Implementing a Design Thinking Project in a Biomedical Instrumentation Course

Contribution: This article illustrates how to design and implement a Design Thinking project in a biomedical instrumentation course as a bridge between education and industry. It also presents the effect of the project on student perceptions of their learning gains and their postgraduate preparedness. Background: Biomedical engineering continues to experience strong growth, with instrumentation being one of the top three segments of the industry. Design Thinking is a desirable skill in the industry, is highly applicable to the human-centered outcomes of biomedical instrumentation, and has documented a positive impact on student learning. Therefore, Design Thinking implementation in a biomedical instrumentation course would be valuable, but has yet to be accomplished. Intended Outcomes: The implementation of a Design Thinking project is expected to increase student learning and postgraduate preparedness. Application Design: A Design Thinking project was designed and implemented in an upper level biomedical instrumentation course. This article describes the structure of the project, for example, student outcomes and its assessment. The “Student Assessment of Learning Gains” instrument and a postgraduate survey were used to evaluate student perception of their learning and postgraduate preparedness. Findings: The critical elements of Design Thinking were successfully implemented into a four-week biomedical instrumentation project experience within the instrumentation course. Students perception of their learning was significantly increased by the Design Thinking project. A postgraduate survey indicated a positive influence of the project on student preparedness for industry and graduate studies.