2024 Design Thinking in Action Get-Together: Reflection & Optimism
“Design is where science and art break even.” – (a certain mysterious) Robin Mat(t)hew
Over the years, I have become increasingly convinced that my life can be best summed up by one word:
More often than not, the most major turning points and directions my life has taken have butterfly-effected out of the tiniest, most random coincidences and encounters and events.
Such was the case when last week, my friend and world-renowned educator Dr. Jennifer Chang Wathall invited me to the 2024 DTIA (Design Thinking in Action – Asia) Get-Together, where she would be speaking. I initially declined, because I would be in Shenzhen for the first day of the (un)conference, and wanted the ticket to go to someone else who could attend both days.
Then Sunday morning (Day 2, Jan 14), she messaged me again saying a one-day ticket was still available. I only saw the message after the day’s schedule had already started at 9 am. I made the snap decision to immediately head over, arriving half an hour after the talks had started.
What a decision that turned out to be. Over the following 8 or so hours, I heard from some of the most inspiring, passionate, and knowledgeable people working in and around the world of design thinking. I got to talk and connect with educators, designers, entrepreneurs, professors, even two secondary school students who have already launched a successful global venture.
I felt at once reinvigorated and at home (the latter a bit surprisingly, being not technically a designer by training), to have met a network of people with so many of the same values and passions as me. I know I can call on them for support and guidance and mentorship in any of my future endeavors, even beyond Ternity Education, while simultaneously I hope to bring my science and engineering and technical AI background to this community.
I cannot adequately express my gratitude again to Jennie, and also to all the organizers (I’m sure I’m missing some, still trying to learn your names!): Stephen S.Y. Wong, Marcus Lui, Cristiane Ross, Albert Chen, Ann Chan, and Amy Ip. But I just as much want to thank the other speakers and all the participants, of whom there are too many to list here, for filling me with so much hope and excitement at the start of 2024, especially after a particularly difficult 2023.
The get-together tagline of Reflection & Optimism could not have been better chosen.
P.S. I had the quote in the subtitle as my desktop wallpaper for many years (it’s still saved in my files). I’d forgotten until literally just now that I actually made a custom version, see below:
Turns out that might’ve been a moot point, because no one actually knows who this Robin Mat(t)hew even is. Go figure.
So what is "D/AI/verse Minds" going to be about? What is your mission statement? I feel like our mental health academia burnouts, and career pauses are a great incubation period of unusual and entrepreneurial decisions.
Not many people are writing intelligently about the intersection of startups, science, innovation and Generative A.I. A lot of academics have a brand of technological optimism that is incredibly naive and sounds almost like marketing for these companies.