UNMC’s Breakthrough Thinking Conference Series, which will be held virtually throughout the fall and spring, will begin on Oct. 27 with a presentation on design thinking.
Kathryn Segovia, PhD, and Douglas Dietz will present during the virtual event, which will begin at 10:30 a.m. and run through 12:30 p.m. (Access the event through Zoom.)
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From left, Kathryn Segovia, PhD, and Douglas Dietz |
Dr. Segovia, former Nebraskan and head of learning experience design at the d.school at Stanford University, will speak on “Using Design Thinking to Inspire and Lead through Uncertainty in Education.” Dietz, the principal design thinker for GE Healthcare in Waukesha, Wisconsin, will discuss “Using Design Thinking to Capture Unmet Needs and Desires from the Field to Drive a Program to Success.”
The program will be the first of four virtual events. The series will continue on Nov. 23 with J. Nwando Olayiwola, MD, and Ruth Shim, MD, who will speak on inclusion and diversity, and two additional events will be planned for the spring.
“The series will finish in April, and it will give people a variety of areas to help them think about how to approach problems differently as they begin work on their strategic plans for the upcoming year,” said Rowen Zetterman, MD, associate vice chancellor for strategic planning.
The topics for the presentations — spring’s events will include presentations on simulation and analytics — are major areas of interest for the university as it considers its strategic plan, Dr. Zetterman said.
“These are topics we wanted to make sure were brought forward as planning was being considered,” he said. “In the past, we have had topics that have had a profound effect on our strategic plans. Two years ago, we had a speaker come and speak on empathy — empathy during patient care, working with your colleagues, in teaching and in other situations. That presentation brought about a number of strategic plans initiatives the following year.”
Dr. Zetterman said this year’s topics should have similar impact.
“The conference has always been designed to stimulate people to think about areas that may affect them in one way or another as they’re preparing their strategic planning for the coming year,” he said.