“I feel like it actually really taught me a lot. It made me empathise with people around me. When creating a solution, we need to understand the problem first.”

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  • DT understanding: 13.5% → 69.5%
  • Ideas generated: 37
  • Prototypes built: 28
Sembawang Secondary School Students

“I learned that no idea is a ‘bad’ idea. The process helped me be more open-minded and brave enough to share my thoughts.”

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  • DT understanding: 13.5% → 69.5%
  • Ideas generated: 37
  • Prototypes built: 28
Sembawang Secondary School Students

“I’m much more confident now because I’ve experienced solving a problem in a different, more in-depth manner.”

LinkedInTwitterShare
  • DT understanding: 13.5% → 69.5%
  • Ideas generated: 37
  • Prototypes built: 28
Sembawang Secondary School Students
Students Learning Design thinking schools during interactive activity
Students Learning Design thinking schools during interactive activity
Student group conducting community or workplace observation for design thinking research

Learning Outcomes

Our Community programme helps your learners practise in creating more loveable, inclusive places for all. Your students will build empathy, communication and collaborative leadership as they use design thinking to strengthen belonging, shared ownership and everyday support within their school community.

Students exploring a community environment with a design consultant as part of a real-world learning experience

Step Out Of Comfort Zones

Your learners will take on unfamiliar roles, activities and challenges, building the confidence to experiment, speak up and try new ideas.

Students learning design thinking methodology with C-Academy

Transformative Learning

Learning moves beyond the classroom as your students will investigate real spaces, issues and communities, seeing how their lessons connect to everyday life.

Students Learning Design thinking schools during interactive activity

Foster Empathy

Your learners will practise listening deeply, observing carefully and putting themselves in others’ shoes to understand real needs and feelings. Then they will follow a clear, step-by-step process from empathising, defining, to ideating, prototyping, and testing, so they can apply it to any complex problem.

Students Learning Design thinking schools during interactive activity

Understand Diverse Perspectives

Your learners will work with different stakeholders and team-mates, recognising that meaningful solutions come from many voices, not just their own.

Student group conducting community or workplace observation for design research

Ignite Curiosity

They are encouraged to ask questions, challenge assumptions and explore “what if” possibilities, turning curiosity into a habit.

C-Academy Design Thinking Community

Develop New Skills

Your learners will turn ideas into tangible prototypes and actions, gaining practical skills to improve their school, neighbourhood and wider community.

Design Thinking Outcome in Numbers

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71 %

Of students reported stronger empathy after the programme, up from ~44%

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89 %

Felt confident experimenting with new ideas, rising from ~69%

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78 %

Found teamwork easier and more effective, up from ~58%

Developing Future-Ready Learners with EDIT Design Thinking®

Design thinking is not just a set of tools and techniques; it is a way of understanding people first. We focus on your learners, their growth, and the meaningful connections they build through empathy, collaboration, and real-world problem solving. We empower individuals to create positive change within their communities, organisations, and beyond.

C-Academy Design Thinking EDIT Methodology by Creativeans
Step 1

Empathise

Your learners will understand the lived experience of the people they are designing for, using observation, simple interviews and empathy tools to surface real needs, motivations and pain points.

Step 2

Define

Your learners will synthesise insights into a clear, student-owned problem statement, so the challenge is grounded, specific and worth solving.

Step 3

Ideate

Your learners will generate and refine a wide range of solutions, learning how to think creatively and critically by considering impact, feasibility and the realities of implementation.

Step 4

Test

Your learners will prototype, gather feedback and iterate, learning that good ideas improve through evidence, reflection and continual refinement.

Community Design Programme Outline

Every community is unique and so are its needs. Our Community programmes let you choose how deeply your students dive into real issues that matter to them. This programme will let your students learn to understand the community, design meaningful solutions, and see how their ideas can take root.

6 sessions
about 18 hours in total
up to 50 participants
Student participants using Idea Dice during the ideation stage of a design thinking workshop
Session 1

Introduction to Design Thinking

Your students are introduced to EDIT Design Thinking® through a structured, hands-on workshop. They will learn the core stages from empathise to test, map users and needs within their school community, and frame clear “How might we…” questions before generating early solution ideas.

Learners on a design thinking field visit outside classroom
Session 2

Learning Journey

Your students will go on a partner site visit (e.g. community group, social initiative, public space) to observe how people interact, how support systems are built and where gaps or tensions appear.

C-Academy Design Thinking for Students
Session 3

Empathise + Define

Your learners will map key groups in school, run simple interviews/observations and turn insights into empathy maps and “How might we…” questions around belonging, well-being, communication or collaboration.

Student group conducting community or workplace observation for design thinking research
Session 4

Ideate (Convergence + Divergence)

Your learners will use divergent and convergent ideation tools to generate many ideas, cluster and evaluate them, then select a few strong concepts to develop as team projects.

Session 5

Prototype + Test

Your learners will turn concepts into quick prototypes such as storyboards, mock-ups, scripts or mini-pilots and test them with peers and teachers, refining ideas based on real feedback.

Prototype presentation at school community design thinking showcase
Session 6

Presentation

Your learners will share their final concepts and design journey with school leaders, teachers and classmates, explaining the issues they tackled, what they learnt, and how their ideas could be implemented or piloted.

All programme formats can be customised to your school’s context, student level and timetable.

Case Studies

See how schools and partners across Singapore have used our Community programmes to turn real challenges into student-led solutions.

Learning Trip with Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore)

Sembawang Secondary School students participated in a Jane Goodall learning trip to explore conservation and environmental stewardship. They gained insights into wildlife protection, sustainability, and the importance of coexisting harmoniously with nature.

Back at school, they applied these lessons through design-thinking projects, creating initiatives to promote environmental awareness and develop actionable solutions for a greener future.

  • 43 design thinking ideas
  • 24 physical prototypes ideas
Students on a learning journey as part of a design thinking for schools workshop
Students on a learning journey as part of a design thinking for schools workshop

What Makes Us Different

Led by practising consultants and built on proven frameworks, our programmes are co-designed with educators and enriched by real-world partners, ensuring strong alignment with school priorities and competencies of today and tomorrow.

Industry-Proven Experts & Methodology

C-Academy is led by practising brand and design consultants who bring real industry rigour into education. Our programmes are grounded in Creativeans’ EDIT Design Thinking® and BrandBuilder® frameworks, refined through real projects since 2012 to help organisations solve complex challenges with clarity and creativity.

C-academy with strong partners

Co-Designed
with Educators
For Real Impact

We plan and facilitate workshops alongside teachers, aligning with school priorities, character and citizenship education, and 21st-century competencies. Every session is grounded in your learners’ context and leaves behind tools they can continue using after the programme ends.

C-Academy for CEO Bosses

Strong Network
of Partners

We collaborate with a strong network of partners from industry foundations to cultural and community organisations to enrich participants’ learning and connect design thinking directly to real-world applications. This ensures your students engage with authentic perspectives and understand how design thinking creates value in real contexts.

Students on a learning journey observation during a design thinking workshop

Let Out the Student’s Creativity

Ready to help your students strengthen connections, belonging and well-being in your school? Tell us about your learners and objectives, and we will recommend a design thinking programme that fits.