During the second weekend of October, attentive eyes might have spotted many IDBMers at the DASH hack in Valo Hotel & Work. 

Of course, this does not come as a surprise, since DASH is a hackathon powered by design thinking, where multidisciplinary teams get together for a weekend to work on challenges provided by partner companies. With many clear synergies between IDBM program and DASH hackathon, it was our pleasure to not only collaborate but further strengthen our partnership with the bright minds behind the hackathon.

IDBM x DASH Design Thinking Booklet and pre-event keynote

This year, our collaboration manifested itself in many forms. Already in preparation for the event, we wanted to share the knowledge that IDBMers possess on design thinking. As a result of a co-creative process between current IDBM students, alumni, and the DASH team, we created a design thinking booklet, condensing our knowledge of design thinking into a booklet format. Serving as an approachable starting point towards design thinking, the booklet was something the participants could utilize during the hackathon to support their ideation and conceptualization processes. The booklet was introduced during the DASH pre-event, alongside IDBM’s doctoral student Apurva Ganoo’s keynote on the basics of design thinking.

View the booklet here!

IDBM mentors

However, as one booklet is not capable of fully encapsulating the design thinking process, we were curious to develop an interactive platform that would provide additional tacit knowledge to the participants. Subsequently, mentors from IDBM were present throughout the whole weekend, supporting the teams throughout the design process. By including both experienced, and new mentors, our goal was to build a diverse group of mentors that were enthusiastic, eager, and excited to support the participants through their design-thinking journey. To prepare the mentors, we organized workshops to develop their mentoring skills, practicing various scenarios, and providing other relevant materials.

“First, I didn’t really feel qualified enough to become a mentor but a friend persuaded me a bit and I decided to try it, for at least it would be a learning experience. Little did I know I would actually enjoy it a lot and learn both the basic ropes on how to mentor, as well as learn tricks from other mentors."

- Riia-Leena Wallin,  IDBM alumna, mentor at DASH hack 2022

IDBM participants

The true magic of DASH, anyhow, happens during the weekend-long hacking, when people from so many different backgrounds get together and, “push their brains to the limit, getting a broad network and amazing experience in return”, as one of our students described it. This year, we were truly proud to see so many of our students tackling the problems provided by the partner companies  - Kalmar, ABB, Vaisala, VTT, and Fazer.

“I was inspired to apply for DASH for the chance to network outside of your home university and to gain new knowledge by working with said people! I learned how to be a team player and to be critical yet helpful to the team. Listening to other teams’ pitches also broadens your mind to possible outcomes and ideas. All in all, it is such an amazing, fun experience!"

- Gladys Theresia, 1st-year student at IDBM

None of this wouldn’t have been possible without the ambitious team behind DASH, the inspiring participating partners, the curious students who participated, and the wonderful mentors who took on this opportunity. IDBM would like to once more thank everyone for making this year’s DASH the most memorable one yet!