How are companies in Malaysia responding to the gathering blitz of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0)? What is IR 4.0? It’s more than just a corporate buzzword. IR 4.0 points to a heady future where human capital and the creative economy will dominate. IR 4.0 isn’t just about artificial intelligence or automation. Surprisingly, people will still be at the center of IR 4.0. Gain prime IR 4.0 skills at the Center for Asia Leadership’s Design Thinking: Leading by Innovation workshop from Nov. 28-29, 2019 in Kuching, Malaysia.
Creating ‘thoughtful’ solutions
Registration rates are as follows:
- MYR 2,400 (Early Rate until Nov. 15)
- MYR 2,400 (Group Rate of minimum 3 pax)
- MYR 2,600 (Regular Rate)
Interested parties may apply until Nov. 20.
Director of Innovation and R&D at San Francisco-based design firm MKThink and CAL Teaching Fellow Signo Uddenberg will head the two-day workshop. Senior managers and working professionals joining the program will “better understand the Design Thinking process and create thoughtful, human-centric solutions.” Talent will have to be equipped to meet the industry performance challenges of IR 4.0 Malaysia.
What will IR 4.0 Malaysia look like?
Uddenberg’s background is in sustainable engineering, infrastructure development, and human-centered design. The program is designed to instill a deeper understanding of what IR 4.0 Malaysia could look like. To facilitate this, Uddenberg will focus on understanding, measuring, and evaluating how complex physical environments affect user choices and activity patterns. Being IR 4.0-savvy means understanding how these impact business performance. His extensive experience involves handling clients like U.S. Department of Defense research groups and educational start-ups based in Silicon Valley. At MKThink, Uddenberg’s main preoccupation is developing solutions for increased performance. This requires looking “at the intersection of people, place, and technology.” Such expertise makes him a credible resource on IR 4.0 complexity and interconnectedness.
“The pace of technical progress and globalization of the world has made innovation no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Design Thinking, rooted in the most innovative companies of Silicon Valley, is widely lauded as an effective approach to uncover real user needs and solve problems creatively,” explains CAL Co-founder and Director for International Affairs John Lim.
Design Thinking is no longer a process mainly for product development. Lim says every organization that deals with processes, user experiences, policies, culture, spaces, and services should learn and practice human-centered design.
Industrial Revolution 4.0 agility
Design Thinking goes beyond traditional market research. As such, it can be considered an IR 4.0 accelerator for companies doing incremental innovation. Participants, no matter how unfamiliar with the innovation process, will be able to:
- Understand the Design Thinking process
- Gain perspective on using Design Thinking to understand the unique needs of different segments
- Develop models and a roadmap for on-going ideation and innovation to eventually meet the complexity of IR 4.0’s combined technologies
The program offers participants a hands-on experience of innovation. For two days, they will engage in Design Thinking sprints and activities, as we all as learn about future trends. They will also practice empathy and process mapping. Such familiarity with the Design Thinking process is needed to leverage consumer insights and observations. Participants will also encounter case studies of organizations that have leapfrogged into Industrial Revolution 4.0 agility.
A network of change agents
The Center for Asia Leadership Initiatives (CALI) is a group of non-profit international organizations established in 2014. Its main goal is to help leaders in Asia initiate change and manage progress. The CALI team does this mainly through research, development, training, and publications, focused on social and public leadership, innovation, and educational practices.
Today, CALI has worked with and served 36,000 individuals and more than 300 organizations. These entities comprise an expansive regional network that spans 72 cities in 32 countries in Asia. Currently, the Center has offices in Boston, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Tokyo, and Manila.
For further information, interested parties may visit http://asia-leadership-2023.local
By Nirva Delacruz & Yuki Lee
