SGSI 2026: Adventures in Design: A d.school Experience
- Course will take place on Tuesday - Friday, September 8-11 from 10AM-5PM
- Full attendance is expected.
- Breakfast will be available starting at 9AM. During the 9-10AM period, students are welcome in the studio and can network with peers
Brief Course Overview
Do you want to tackle complex challenges in your field and beyond? That takes both analytical rigor and creative confidence. Design is a powerful way to develop both. Over four days, you'll learn-by-doing alongside students from across Stanford's disciplines, practicing the methods designers use to stay curious, embrace uncertainty, and bring ideas to life. You'll also have a lot of fun.
Course Format
Fully hands-on course, but no work outside of course hours will be required.
Intensity Level 🔥🔥🔥
"High intensity. Numerous advanced topics are covered at a rapid pace, with immersive in-class activities.
Audience
Open to all graduate students in any discipline who are interested in design as a methodology for interdisciplinary collaboration and have not previously taken a quarter-long d.school course. It is not a product or service design class.
*MSx Class of 2027 and first year MBA students are ineligible to participate due to mandatory program requirements.
Detailed Course Description
People who make marks in their fields don't just know more. They have active imaginations, question what others take for granted, and make unexpected connections. They combine analytical rigor with creative leaps. These creative capacities aren't mysterious gifts. They can be practiced. This workshop is an invitation to develop your own. Over four days, you'll work alongside students from across Stanford's disciplines—collaborating, making things, and testing ideas. Some activities will push you out of your comfort zone. Others will help you better understand how you already think and work. All of them will be more fun than you'd expect from something this useful. You'll leave with practical approaches you can apply to your own work: how to stay curious even in areas where you have expertise, how to keep moving when the path isn't clear, and how to act on ideas instead of waiting until they're perfect. No prior design experience needed –just bring your questions and your willingness to experiment. You'll also leave better prepared to take advantage of other d.school offerings, and with a new community of collaborators from across the university.
Objectives
By participating fully in this course, you will:
- Learn repeatable approaches to cultivating creativity
- Explore the dynamics of creative collaboration
- Explore applications of design in your discipline
Instructors
- Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, adjunct professor in the MS Design Program, and Head of the Teaching and Learning Studio program, d.school
- sam seidel, director of products + publications and co-director, K-12 Lab Program, d.school
- Aleta Hayes, senior lecturer, theater and performance studies (TAPS)
Testimonials
Past participants who took this course said the following about their experience:
“This is what every Stanford student should take. Absolutely life-changing and inspiring."
"Great opportunity to meet other new students—and the frameworks for problem solving and creative thinking can be applicable to any field."
"The facilitators create a strong sense of community and make space for helpful self-reflection before the beginning of the year. I felt challenged and inspired."