@inproceedings{c2806a87c4604ee8b2ae4d8cb0ad9162,
title = "Expanding horizons: Engaging students with empathic thinking",
abstract = "Young student designers have little experience with populations unlike themselves. This can present challenges when project briefs require them to design for people with different life experiences and abilities. Without this understanding their designs may fail to meet the needs of target users. Over the last two years the authors have conducted a series of short, studio based, low fidelity interventions with design and engineering students to widen their empathic horizons and appreciation of what it feels like to be old. The main objective of this paper is to report on the latest of these interventions with a cohort of product design students conducted in 2019 who were asked to develop concepts to support mobility of older people. The feedback from staff and students showed conclusively that this not only increased their understanding and empathy with older people but also led them to understand the value of and even enjoy undertaking research.",
keywords = "Design empathy, Empathic modelling, Older people, Transport design",
author = "Andree Woodcock and Deana McDonagh and Paul Magee and Tim Ball and Sana Iqbal",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Institution of Engineering Designers, The Design Society. All rights reserved.; 21st International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, E and PDE 2019 ; Conference date: 12-09-2019 Through 13-09-2019",
year = "2019",
doi = "10.35199/epde2019.49",
language = "English (US)",
series = "Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education: Towards a New Innovation Landscape, E and PDE 2019",
publisher = "Institution of Engineering Designers, The Design Society",
editor = "Erik Bohemia and Ahmed Kovacevic and Lyndon Buck and Ross Brisco and Dorothy Evans and Hilary Grierson and William Ion and Whitfield, {Robert Ian}",
booktitle = "Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education",
}