I look at it as the primary foundation on how to identify a good question, both from philosophical and scientific perspectives. The quality of any innovation squarely depends on the quality of the questions asked during the making. It is important to acknowledge the need to identify potent pathways of learnings as also a philosophical approach to learning, before one enters the world of biology, mathematics or data science. It also calls for experential learning to be incorporated into the mainstream subject matter. Armed with holistic knowledge, students and practitoners will be in a better position to identify key questions towards developing potential solutions to the given questions.
Can you elaborate int the specific context of scientific innovations?
Design Health Thinking will drive home the moot point that science is incomplete if it only remains a hope for the future without serving the present and the needy. The soul of any innovation is the collaboration and cross-talk between big data experts, life science specialists, mathematicians, software and hardware experts, and electronics enthusiasts all on a single platform to build products and services rooted in disruptive innovation. Talking of medical professionals, design health thinking helps them find solutions to sticky problems from the medical space in collaboration with likeminded thinkers from diverse fields who bring in fresh perspectives of immediate relevance.
Should Design Health thinking be included in the academic curricula?
Undoubtedly yes. Design Health Thinking should be an integral part of the course curriculum of any academic institution seeking to make the most of the evolving paradigms of experiential learning.
Just to cite an example for the sake of clarity, say students are studying cardiac in the course of their biology course. The book learning can be supplemented by real life insights of a medical college or institute into cardiac physiology gained through a interaction with the cardiologists at work there.This experiential window with a clinical connect will help students refine their question after having defined it. They can thus identify topics for a thesis led by their interest and deep dive, rather than led by the teacher’s instruction. In this freewheeling learning plan, the teacher plays the role of a catalyst, handholding the entire process.
How to foster a more rooted academia-indutry interaction?
Students can be assigned a mentor from the industry who has some academic background and connect who will further help enhance the key questions. This close connect will help students deliver results within the given timelines in the guiding light of the mentor.
This approach will teach students the virtues of collaboration and co-creation right at the formative stage of their learning. Many a student drops out of the learning voyage when asked to work in collaborative environments at a later stage, with no idea of what collaboration is all about, and how to make the most of it through versionable improvements and minimally viable products and solutions.
You highlight the need for redefining innovation labs beyond the conventional mechanisms of incubators and accelerators.
Any budding innovator should be taught five key critical pre-requisites of innovation, which will help define prudent innovation pathways:
Funding: They must be made aware of the funding options, with the pros and cons of each route – whether grants, private investments or philanthropic support. It is important to understand that funding is not just about seeking money for money’s sake. Depending on the nature of your innovation, you need to pick the most appropriate option. More importantly, the future of innovation will tilt more and more in favour of the conscious capitalism principles, not in favour of the vulture capitalism diktat, and students need to know about this paradigm shift in their academic voyage itself.
Intellectual Property: Students need to know what are the key IP types, what are the ways in which it is created, which products are IP-able, and which are not. They need to know about the CopyLeft principle; the cardinal truth about ideas is that an idea does not come from you, it comes to you, reaches out to you. CopyLefting our ideas can help us evolve and serve the community in the true spirit of innovation.
Regulatory compliance: Many innovators realise very late in the curve that what is IP-able is not regulatory compliant, and the other way round. This critical realization should not come at the fag end, but right at the beginning which will save much stress at a later stage.
Market access: Many a times, innovators have a wonderful product but don’t have an access route in sight. The potential access route can be either government agencies, distributorship, or national or international markets. Students must be taught how to competently address the 3-D challenge – developing a good Drug or device, finding the right Distribution channel, and creating a buoyant Demand. The middle D is the biggest challenge, and students can seek to crack its code merits with the help of actionable insights taught in the course.
Market Intelligence: This is yet another crucial element. For instance, an innovator may be trying to sell his product in Karnataka when the most ripe market may be Mizoram or Tripura. Market intelligence helps one approach the right markets at the right time.
Each of these modules must be given the needful depth and dimension with commensurate hours of credit to validate and recognize the effort taken by students.