Thursina International Islamic Boarding School (IIBS) continues to develop students’ innovation skills through the Design Thinking Short Course, “Explore, Make an Impact!”, an annual programme under the Specialisation Programme conducted in collaboration with BINUS University Malang.
The programme forms part of Thursina’s implementation of Holistic and Balanced Education, particularly in preparing students to address real-world problems through creative and structured approaches.
The programme was conducted in two series for Grade 11 female and male students. The female students’ sessions were held on September 11 at Harvard Hall and continued on September 14 at BINUS University Malang. Meanwhile, the male students’ sessions took place on September 16 at TICH Male Campus and continued on September 17 at the BINUS campus.
The Person in Charge (PIC) and Head of the Entrepreneur Department, Ustaz Muhammad Miftah, S.Bns., explained that Design Thinking was selected to train students to understand problems from different perspectives. Students were encouraged to identify users’ needs before determining the solutions they would develop.
“We want students to get used to starting with real problems, understanding the needs of others, and turning those needs into valuable ideas. This process is important so that they are not only able to generate ideas but also understand how to test whether those ideas are truly relevant,” said Ustaz Miftah.
Throughout the Design Thinking process, students were introduced to five interconnected stages: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. The sessions at Harvard Hall and TICH focused on the first two stages, Empathize and Define. During these stages, students learned to understand users’ perspectives, identify their needs, and define problems more precisely before developing possible solutions.
The next stages—Ideate, Prototype, and Test—were conducted at BINUS University Malang. During the Ideate stage, students developed various possible solutions based on the problems they had identified and selected the most relevant ideas for further development.
In the Prototype stage, students transformed their ideas into initial forms that could be viewed, used, or simulated. The prototypes were then evaluated during the Test stage, allowing students to gather feedback and assess how effectively their solutions addressed users’ needs.
Through this process, students learned that an idea does not need to be perfect from the outset. Instead, it needs to be tested, evaluated, and refined based on feedback and findings from users.
The collaboration with BINUS University also provided students with exposure to diverse academic perspectives. The female students’ sessions featured Mufida Sekardhani, S.E., MBA.; Mardhatillah Shanti, S.E., M.M.; and Riza Rizqiyah, S.M., MBA. Meanwhile, the male students’ sessions featured Febby Candra Pratama, S.E., M.M.; Dr. R. Aditya Kristamtomo Putra, S.T., M.M.; and Riefky Prabowo, S.E., MBA.
The programme forms part of the development of five Specialisation Programme pathways at Thursina IIBS Senior High School: Sciencepreneur, Entrepreneur, Professional CEO, Technopreneur, and Moslem Scholar.
These five pathways are continuously developed to provide students with opportunities to discover their interests, develop relevant skills, and connect their learning experiences with future needs.
This approach reflects Thursina’s RECODING Value of Open-Minded. Students are encouraged to consider different perspectives, question assumptions, explore new possibilities, and remain open to refining or changing their ideas when testing indicates that another approach may be more effective.
Through the Design Thinking Short Course, Thursina IIBS continues to extend learning beyond conceptual understanding by providing students with opportunities to create, experiment, and address real-world problems. From “Explore” to “Make an Impact,” students are encouraged to take their ideas beyond the classroom and develop solutions that respond to real needs. (izz)
