FOSTERING STUDENT CREATIVITY AND FUTURING THROUGH DESIGN JAMS

Design Jams are intensive, collaborative workshops where students tackle real-world challenges within a limited timeframe. These events foster rapid ideation, teamwork, and hands-on problem-solving, often with a focus on practical solutions and diverse perspectives. By viewing universities as incubators of innovation and creativity rather than merely centres for knowledge (re-)production, we explore innovative methods to enhance student creativity in higher education. This paper elaborates on the use of Design Jams as one example of such innovative educational methods. In our Design Jam, we employed creative tools to collaboratively address future challenges, focusing on creating scenarios for the planned neighbourhood Nyhavna, with young residents at the centre. The event served as a platform for discussion, perspective-sharing, and co-creating diverse visions of the future through expert presentations, hands-on activities, and group presentations, drawing approximately 90 participants including students, professionals from Trondheim Municipality, and representatives from local neighbourhoods and associations. We share experiences and lessons learned from running the Design Jam both as both an integral part of two design courses and as a standalone event with its own value. This work aims to inspire others involved in collaborative design education practices that foster creativity through multi-perspective processes and innovative teaching methods.