Design thinking for business and entrepreneurship: accelerating innovation in higher education in Sri Lanka

Abstract

"Design thinking" is a popular concept in today's business and in many transdisciplinary educational settings which are focussed on innovation. Globally, many universities facilitate design thinking for students both in design and non-design contexts. This concept paper put forward the possibility of using design thinking as a catalyst to support innovation in higher education: particularly in the context of business and multi-disciplinary educational settings in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan universities have lack of engagement with facilitating design thinking for students. However, there are few public universities obsessed with innovation, entrepreneurship and business design in Sri Lanka. This article reviews extant literature relevant to design thinking in higher education context while providing a few examples of design thinking courses. Then the paper discusses the current state of the design, innovation and entrepreneurial education in public universities across Sri Lanka by selecting a few Masters of Business Administration (MBA) courses. Finally, the evidence of the study highlights that there are possibilities of facilitating design thinking in Sri Lankan higher education.