Overview 

HC-X has partnered with Inspirit AI, graduate students at Stanford and MIT, to offer an interdisciplinary, project-based digital credential in Design Thinking & Entrepreneurship.

In small cohort groups, students will choose a problem of their own to solve with a physical or digital product or service and learn how to conduct user interviews to create human-centred design solutions. They will get a crash course on how to use Figma, Airtable, Canva, and more to build out a design portfolio, and create a real business model for their own product. 

Students will receive individualized guidance from our instructors to take their ideas from formulation to reality!

Availability: All students in Grades 9-12, no business or software experience required!
Program Fee: $950

Please ask about Financial assistance, if applicable.

Course Structure:

1. Real-World Design & Entrepreneurship Talks

Learn about design thinking, product design jobs, and building businesses from our instructors and guest speakers. Gain expertise from designers and entrepreneurs working in the industry, from schools like Stanford and Harvard, and companies of all sizes and verticals – from healthcare, fashion, and education to Big Tech and beyond!

2. Hands-On Design Skills

Develop your design acumen through interactive sessions focused on Graphic Design, User Experience (UX) design, Illustration and Fine Art, and Human Factors design. Learn where real designers gather inspiration from, and how they apply their knowledge in programs like Figma, Canva, Photoshop, Illustrator, and hand-drawn sketches.

3. Project-Based Learning

Students will each complete a custom project of their choosing in small student groups within each bootcamp cohort. Apply the skills taught in each session immediately to their own ideas, and focus on design that you care about most. Students leave our bootcamp with a completed business plan, elevator pitch, and digital mockups of their product to showcase in online portfolios, on college applications, or during job interviews.

4. Business Model Planning

Explore the process of creating your own business plan to bring your ideas to real customers worldwide. Students will each create a business model that prepares them for marketing their ideas on a global scale, as well as an investor talk deck and elevator pitch that will be presented to a real panel of industry experts.

Outcomes: 

• Students will work with HC-X staff to effectively prepare, plan and execute their organizational skills to be successful.

• Students will work with HC-X staff to effectively prepare, plan and execute their organizational skills to be successful. Through Inspirit AI, students will learn how to utilize the design thinking process to bring their business ideas to life. Students will work on independent business pitches for a product of their design, leaving with a business plan, pitch deck, and product mockups that can be shared on portfolios, resumes, or college applications! 

• Throughout the delivery of this digital credential, HC-X will support student learning by facilitating synchronous sessions on campus, hosting the remote instructor via Zoom, and being available for student questions.

Delivery:

• This digital credential will be 100% synchronous, Zoom-enabled class will take place at Havergal College. 

• It will run a total of 20-24 hours in a format that best fits our Havergal participants.