Design thinking

: base de um modelo de reestruturação da educação em marketing

Abstract

Nowadays there is an increasing urgency for innovation and transformation. Education must follow and adapt to the world’s developments allowing students to lead future progress. The pace at which the world is changing has increased over the years and this trend is not expected to change soon. Education will be the key to unlock further growth by providing students with the required toll set to drive humanity towards a better future. This master’s thesis applies Design Thinking as a methodology for the redesign of the Marketing higher education degree. An initial analysis of the Design Thinking methodology is made looking at its history, the principle methods applied, and the tools and characteristics adopted so a deep understanding can be obtained of the potential brought by its addition to this field. Furthermore, the connection between Design Thinking and innovation will also be evaluated to understand its application to education. Once the main challenges and innovation requirements for higher education degrees are understood a thorough analysis will be presented on how Design Thinking can improve education in the marketing sector. The aim of this thesis project goes beyond commenting the innovative insights brought by Design Thinking to education. A practical case study was also conducted to evaluate marketing student’s awareness of the concepts that make the Design Thinking mentality. This case study aims to understand how well marketing students know the concept of Design Thinking and how capable are them to innovate when applying these tolls. Overall, it was possible to conclude that Design Thinking is still an unfamiliar concept to students. However, due to their mentality, its adoption is expected to be well accepted among scholars.

Date of Award	9 Apr 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Alexandre Duarte (Supervisor)