Keynote 5

From Possibility Studies Network
Prof. Nathan Crilly

Exploring the Relationships between Design Thinking, Systems Thinking, Entrepreneurial Thinking and Other Disciplinary Approaches

Nathan Crilly, Engineering Design Centre, University of Cambridge

Abstract

Efforts to promote creativity and imagination often centre on encouraging people to engage in ‘design thinking’, ‘systems thinking’ or ‘entrepreneurial thinking’. These different forms of ‘thinking’ have been described as the keys to innovation across a broad range of application areas, including policy making, strategy formulation and healthcare. Design-, systems- and entrepreneurial thinking are most often defined, taught and applied in mutual isolation, which has obscured what they have in common, how they are distinct and how they might be combined. They are also most often described in isolation from the ‘ways of thinking’ that characterise other disciplines, all of which are relevant to the recognition of opportunities and the development of solutions: ‘computational thinking’, ‘mathematical thinking’, ‘scientific thinking’, ‘engineering thinking’, ‘geographical thinking’, ‘anthropological thinking’ and many more. Collecting and examining descriptions of these different ways of thinking permits the connections and contrasts between them to be identified and for each of them to be better understood in relation to the others. Such comparisons make it easier to identify, select, apply and combine different disciplines’ ways of thinking to promote creativity and imagination in individuals, groups and organisations.


Biography

Nathan Crilly is Professor of Design at the Engineering Department at the University of Cambridge. He conducts research into how products, systems and services are designed and developed, focussing on designers' creativity and users' experiences. With a background in Mechanical Engineering and Design Research, Nathan combines a variety of research approaches in his work, including both qualitative and experimental methods of empirical investigation. He also employs integrative scholarly methods for conceptual development, connecting ideas, methods and findings from different research traditions. Nathan is a member of the Editorial Boards of International Journal of Design Creativity & Innovation, Possibility Studies & Society and Journal of Engineering Design. He is a Fellow of the Design Research Society and previously held both an Early Career Fellowship with the UK’s Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council, and an Interdisciplinary Fellowship in Philosophy with the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities. Nathan teaches design, creativity and communication at the undergraduate, graduate and executive levels, and was awarded the Pilkington Prize for Teaching Excellence in 2023.

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