IDEO is an award-winning global design company that takes a human-centered, design thinking approach to help organizations innovate and grow. Through IDEO U, learn the methods and develop the mindsets that IDEO has practiced for decades to help organizations become more resilient, adaptable and innovative.
What You'll Do
- Learn from real-world IDEO practitioners.
- Collaborate alongside a global community.
- Experience action-oriented learning.
- Practice new skills through in-course project challenges.
- Gain the confidence to apply these techniques to your own work.
Modern Learning Experience
We’ve combined our deep understanding of human-centered design with the science of learning to develop a unique experience that fits into your busy life and connects you with like-minded individuals across the globe. Through real-life practice and application of new concepts, you’ll strengthen your creative problem-solving skills by moving away from what's familiar. It’s through moments when you experience a failure, see an alternative, or stretch out of your comfort zone that learning comes.
That’s why IDEO U lessons are designed to challenge assumptions and provoke new ways of working. You’ll learn from esteemed practitioners who apply these methods every day in their own work, and who have a passion for teaching at IDEO U as well as at universities including Stanford, Oxford, Northwestern, University of California at Berkeley, and TsingHua University.
Based on best practices from the field of learning science, the IDEO U experience engages learners in cycles of see, try, share, and reflect. Our single courses engage you in this cycle several times, while our certificate programs take you through multiple cycles, resulting in deeper learning and professional impact.
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See
Our instructional approach engages you through stories, emotions, intellect, and humor. Each lesson has a series of 3-5 minute videos that explain the why, what, and how of a specific topic. Plus we bring everything to life through case studies from around the globe so you can see firsthand how others apply these lessons in their work.
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Try
Nobody grows muscles by watching other people exercise. It’s the same with the concepts we teach at IDEO U. In order to develop skills like creative problem solving or become more influential as a leader, you need to try it out for yourself through repeated practice loops and exposure to new contexts. In our courses, we provide opportunities to try out new behaviors online in the comfort of your home, but more importantly, we give projects that take you offline and into real life to deepening your learning.
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Share
Knowledge is constructed through interaction with others—which is the foundation of our cohort experience. Our experts teach the content, but it’s through sharing and discussing with qualified teaching leads and a global peer network that you build greater understanding. We intentionally craft moments for social learning, such as our in-course learning gallery where you post your work for feedback as well as see how others approach the same problem. We also provide structured activities for you to practice your skills with others at work and in your community.
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Reflect
Learners who are aware of their thinking processes and are self-reflective get the most out of a learning experience and are more successful in applying their understanding to new contexts. We’ve designed a variety of reflective activities into our experiences to help you make the connections from our online content to your specific work challenges. We believe in equipping learners to deepen their professional impact; reflection is one of the most effective ways to do that.
Online Learning From IDEO U
Certificate Programs
Advance your career and build your confidence with a 3-6 month action-oriented learning experience made up of cohort and self-paced courses.
Cohort Courses
Collaborate with a global community in our 5-week online courses and apply new skills to your day-to-day work to increase your impact.
Self-Paced Courses
Learn anytime, anywhere. Boost your skills with flexible, short-form online courses designed to fit your life. Access 90 days from purchase.
What Learners Are Saying
How an Educator Found Her Story & Launched a Business
The learning experience has been delightful, the information is clear, the pace is just right, the material and resources are on point and guide you to conclusions effectively. I learned something new every week.
I found the course format ideal for busy professionals, and I am confident that I can apply everything I learned directly to my job.
Enroll As a Team
The practice and application of design thinking, innovation, and creativity is highly collaborative and team based—which is why we believe that learning is better together. Take a course as a team and develop new skills and mindsets, have deeper discussion during course kickoff and debrief sessions, and build a shared understanding.
