Utilising Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) as a Pedagogical Framework for Design Thinking Projects

The University of Derby (UoD) and Jiangxi University of Technology (JXUT) run annual, joint projects that provide students with an opportunity to develop cultural awareness and work on participatory Design Thinking and professional practice projects. These have normally taken place on the Derby campus but in 2020/21 the teaching delivery moved entirely to a virtual realm, due to the Covid-19
restrictions in the UK. This year, participants were tasked to propose products and services to improve student wellbeing in inner-city areas. This case study presents the results of this collaboration. The online Design Thinking project, undertaken by UK and Chinese students utilises the COIL framework (Collaborative Online International Learning). The goal of this approach is for students to become independent critical thinkers, who use empathetic methodologies to Design. Furthermore, it will present visual samples of students' work and present how online real-time interactive platforms facilitated their research and communication skills. The conclusion summarises what was learned
from this way of working, together with suggestions of how this might feed into design pedagogy in the post-COVID era.