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IA40460

Academic Year 2024/2025

Design your Purposeful Life (IA40460)

Subject:
Innovation Academy
College:
VP - Research, Innov & Impact
School:
Innovation Academy
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Jakub Urbaniak
Trimester:
Autumn&Spring&Summer(separate)
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Pass/Fail (GPA Neutral)

Curricular information is subject to change.

OVERVIEW

The aim of this module is to enable students to plan and reflect upon their learning, career and life goals using a Design Thinking approach.

Design Thinking is a human-centric creative problem-solving process. It offers a proven methodology and repeatable approach that can be used to identify new opportunities, solve problems, and develop innovative solutions. While it has usually been applied to the development of products and services, in this module, participants will apply the approach to design their own career and life goals.

Over the course of the module, participants will reflect on their life so far, their values and their sense of purpose. Using a combination of creative and analytical tools they will work to develop insights into themselves and to map out their way ahead, acquiring a toolkit that can be used at any point in life to identify, evaluate and make informed career and life choices. Along with this, participants will be introduced to a wide range of stories and testimonies that can inspire their own life-shaping choices. Participants will also develop a community of peers in which to share ideas and hear how others are thinking about their own life and career questions.

The module will introduce the participants to the processes and tools that will enable them to make creative and informed life and career choices for themselves.

Please note that assessment for this module largely takes place during class time - with the exception of a small amount of pre-work, and the individual reflective report which is typically due within two weeks of the module finishing.


UCD INNOVATION ACADEMY

** Enrolment in an Innovation Academy module means a commitment to active participation and engagement in all class activities. **

At the UCD Innovation Academy, we are Educator Practitioners with extensive real-world experience as academics, business and social entrepreneurs, tech thinkers, creative professionals and design thinking practitioners.

Our teaching is grounded in academic rigour. Our focus is on ‘learning by doing’ in a real-world context. Classes include a combination of individual and team tasks and activities, along with discussions, presentations and reflection.

Note on class size: To ensure a quality experience for all, we limit our class size to 36 students or less. We require a minimum of 16 participants to ensure enough people for teamwork and a dynamic classroom environment. On very rare occasions, if fewer than 16 registered students register, we will offer students the opportunity to join another class.

www.innovationacademy.ie

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

1) Understand the five stages of Design Thinking and apply them introspectively as a tool to design a purposeful life.
2) Gain insight into their core values in relation to concrete attitudes, behaviours, and life choices.
3) Define personal meaning and success by recognising their strengths and constructing a coherent narrative.
4) Generate creative ideas for exploring alternative future scenarios and career paths.
5) Demonstrate job-searching skills by prototyping multiple career options.
6) Communicate with peers to effectively share ideas, network, and build collaborations.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

40

Autonomous Student Learning

40

Lectures

5

Small Group

20

Conversation Class

10

Practical

5

Total

120


Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
All Innovation Academy modules take a learning by doing approach, combining, individual, group and team activities, tasks and projects including presentations, discussion and reflection:

• Active/task-based learning
• Peer and Group work
• Reflective Learning
• Enquiry & Problem-based learning
• Student Presentations
• Case Study Learning

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
IA20090 - Design Your Life


 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Participation in Learning Activities: This module requires active participation and engagement in all class activities. Week 1 Pass/Fail Grade Scale Yes
40
Yes
Assignment(Including Essay): Participation including but not limited to: in-class presentations, online assignments, etc. Week 1 Pass/Fail Grade Scale Yes
30
Yes
Reflective Assignment: Reflection Report at the end of the Module. Note: ‘Schedule Details’ will adjust based on the length of the module. E.g., for a 5-day intensive module, the final assessment is due 3 weeks afterward. Week 15 Pass/Fail Grade Scale Yes
30
Yes

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Remediation Type Remediation Timing
In-Module Resit Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Individual feedback is available upon request.

Name Role
Anh Nguyen Quoc Tutor

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Workshop Offering 1 Week(s) - 34, 35 Fri 09:00 - 13:50
Spring Workshop Offering 1 Week(s) - 34 Mon 09:00 - 13:50
Spring Workshop Offering 1 Week(s) - 34, 35 Thurs 09:00 - 13:50
Spring Workshop Offering 1 Week(s) - 34 Tues 09:00 - 13:50
Spring Workshop Offering 1 Week(s) - 34 Wed 09:00 - 13:50