A team of industrial design specialists from national applied research and development (R&D) centre MIMOS is presently conducting a training programme on Design Thinking aimed at helping companies to better understand their problems, towards developing better products and services in line with Industry 4.0.
MIMOS said that the impact of transformation brought forth by Industry 4.0 will be profound, and will not just be driven by technology but also through necessary shifts in mindsets.
“Industry 4.0 requires people with new skills and new ways of working. As engineers, designers and business owners are introduced to disruptive technologies sucSh as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Additive Manufacturing, training in work methodologies will be necessary to unlock new opportunities and to inspire the creation of innovative solutions to new challenges,” the centre said.
Training programmes in concepts such as Design Thinking will become increasingly critical for the next generation of researchers, engineers, designers and manufacturing managers, MIMOS said.
The five-day Design Thinking – From Concept to Reality programme held at MIMOS is led by award-winning industrial designer Saharudin Busri, who is also MIMOS’ Head of Industrial Design.
Throughout the five-day programme, participants will discover in stages the challenges in re-imagining new solution opportunities and learn how to develop more innovative, robust and user-centric solutions.
With the help of tools such as method templates, participants can make use of practical Design Thinking methods at every stage of their problems.
Upon completing the training programme, individuals and organisations are usually able to initiate a new working culture based on a user-centric approach; characterised by empathy, ideation, modelling and less-stressful experimentation; leading to reduced risks and accelerated learning.
When Design Thinking approaches are applied to business organisations, the success rate for innovation will improve significantly, MIMOS said.
As Malaysia embraces Industry 4.0, MIMOS is encouraging organisations to upskill and reskill their workforce with product and service design principles such as Design Thinking to prepare future generations for digital transformation.
Meanwhile, the public especially manufacturers and industrial design aficionados can catch a glimpse of some of MIMOS’ award-winning product designs at Reka Malaysiaku Exhibition which is ongoing at the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur until 10 November.
Some of the designs which have been showcased since 30 July include the F1-inspired wheelchair; a fully-collapsible luggage suitable for frequent travellers called GooBag; and T-Raxtor, a compact multi-purpose agricultural vehicle equipped with the latest technology to assist farmers in planting and harvesting crops.
