A four-stage journey from noticing problems to prototyping solutions — the founding programme of SDICI and the shared method behind every other design and innovation IAP.
Design Thinking is the entry method for the entire School of Design, Innovation & Creative Intelligence. Learners are trained to observe a real problem, empathise with the people affected by it, generate ideas without judgement, and test rough prototypes early and often. Rather than teaching design as a subject to memorise, the programme treats it as a repeatable process — the same one used at product studios, architecture firms, and innovation labs — scaled down and sequenced for a school-age learner and built back up in complexity year after year.
Ability to notice real, specific problems rather than assumed ones.
Structured user research and interviewing, not just sympathy.
Comfort turning a rough idea into something testable, fast.
Treats feedback and failure as design data, not a verdict.
Presents and defends design decisions clearly to an audience.
A documented body of prototypes and projects, not just grades.
| Component | What It Measures | Weightage |
|---|---|---|
| Quizzes & Readiness Checks | Concept recall before class | 10% |
| Labs & Design Sprints | Applied, hands-on design execution | 20% |
| Assignments & Reflection Journals | Independent practice and self-review | 15% |
| Mid-Term Assessment | Cumulative checkpoint on core method | 15% |
| Capstone Project | End-to-end designed & prototyped solution | 20% |
| External Evaluation | Independent assessor review of portfolio | 10% |
| Viva Voce | Oral defense of design decisions | 10% |
| Total | 100% | |
In Grades 11–12, every Design Thinking Scholar identifies a real problem, runs the full design cycle independently, and builds a working prototype — physical or digital — that is reviewed by an external assessor and defended in a viva. The finished capstone feeds directly into the learner's SDICI portfolio and, where relevant, into the Future Innovators & Young Patent Lab flagship track.
IAP in Design Thinking is offered under School 19 · SDICI, part of the SkillEdu IAP 150+™ ecosystem.