AI x Design Thinking Certificate

Combine AI & creativity to amplify your problem-solving skills

Learn the core concepts of design thinking – an approach to creative problem solving that taps into human needs to produce innovative solutions. Bring AI into your process to expand your perspective, generate more ideas, and unlock efficiencies. Get hands-on practice in 17 live sessions, led by experienced practitioners.

IDEO has been honing our human-centered approach to business for over 40 years. A global leader in innovation, our work combines deeply human methods with cutting-edge technology tools to design services and products that people want and need.

Certificate Program Outcomes
  • Gain skills in observation and interviewing to better understand what people want and need.
  • Consistently generate more and better ideas by using IDEO’s approach to brainstorming and ideation.
  • Build prototypes to test new ideas early and launch with less risk.
  • Build AI into your creative process: Understand how to effectively partner with AI for creative and analytical tasks.
  • Use AI responsibly: Develop essential mindsets for working with Generative AI tools, framing your relationship with AI to be more collaborative, responsible, and human-centered.
  • Showcase your new skills through tangible, real-world projects, like an insights report and product or service prototypes.
Skills You’ll Gain
Customer Research Interviewing Brainstorming Prototyping AI Prompt Engineering Responsible AI Use

Last day to purchase Jan 15

Format 1 Online Cohort Course
Start Date
Duration 8 Weeks
Time 6-8 Hours/Week
Price
Regular price
$1,997
Sale price
$1,697
Unit price
per 
Download Syllabus

What You'll Learn

Introduction

This certificate program combines content from three IDEO U courses (Insights for Innovation, From Ideas to Action, AI x Design Thinking Workshop Series) into one cohort over 8 weeks.

In this lesson, get a course overview and introduction to IDEO's approach to innovation, and explore the power of insights.

Video Sneak Peeks
  • Insights Fuel Innovation
  • Assessing Your Progress
  • Meet Your Instructors – Coe Leta Stafford & Jane Fulton Suri
  • Meet Your Instructor—Brendan Boyle
  • From Ideas to Action – IDEO Prototyping Example

Week 1: Observation & Interviewing

Practice how to listen with your eyes to understand what people value and care about. Learn how to conduct a great interview so you can get deeper, more honest answers that inspire great insights.

Week 2: Empathy & Insights

Learn how to immerse yourself directly into another person’s experience to evoke empathy. Share compelling, quality insights that will inspire and motivate others to innovate.

Week 3: Foundations in AI and Design Thinking & AI and Synthesis

Gain a foundational understanding of how AI enhances design thinking, emphasizing collaborative, responsible, explorer, and human-centered mindsets. Enhance synthesis with Generative AI by processing data, identifying patterns, and generating actionable insights efficiently.

Week 4: The Art of Ideating


Go beyond brainstorming—learn techniques for coming up with an abundance of innovative ideas.

Week 5: Rapid Prototyping & Iterate Your Way Forward

Learn how to make your ideas tangible so you can work through issues, gather feedback, and get to better solutions faster. Practice improving your ideas through multiple rounds of ideation and prototyping.

Week 6: Brainstorming with AI


Use AI to develop ideas faster and explore many options, learning to prompt and guide these tools toward more innovative solutions.

Week 7: Prototyping with AI

Utilize Generative AI to create prototypes, visualize concepts, and bring ideas to life quickly and effectively.

Week 8: The Future of AI & Conclusion

Explore perspectives on the future of AI and its potential for inclusivity and innovation, and craft your vision for responsible and human-centered AI design. Hear advice on pursuing your ideas, building your creative confidence, and planning for the future.

Product FAQs

The content is the same, but the learning experience is different.

The AI x Design Thinking certificate program combines content from three IDEO U courses (Insights for Innovation, From Ideas to Action, and the AI x Design Thinking Workshop) into one cohort on an accelerated timeline (9 weeks).

The Foundations in Design Thinking Certificate program includes two of those courses (Insights for Innovation and From Ideas to Action), but you will take those courses separately with two different cohorts across 10 weeks. Add on the AI x Design Thinking Workshop or self-paced course (4 weeks each) to cover the same material over 14 weeks. If you take all three courses in the AI x Design Thinking certificate program you will earn the AI x Design Thinking Certificate.

The certificate program will take 8 weeks to complete.

There are no prerequisites for taking the AI x Design Thinking certificate program. To practice the AI techniques in this program, you will need to create accounts on the relevant AI platforms. Instructions will be provided at the beginning of the certificate program.

This program is best for beginners and those new to the concepts of design thinking and generative AI. This program is for you if you value human-centered design and want to gain comfort and confidence using AI in your day-to-day work.

Common roles of people who enroll in the included courses are product managers, educators, innovation managers, consultants, facilitators, designers, entrepreneurs, human resources, customer experience, leadership, and strategy.

If you’ve completed any of the three courses that are included in this program (Insights for Innovation, From Ideas to Action, or the AI x Design Thinking workshop), you should take the remaining courses individually to earn the AI x Design Thinking Certificate.

The AI x Design Thinking certificate program combines content from three courses (Insights for Innovation, From Ideas to Action, and AI x Design Thinking workshop) into a single-cohort accelerated learning experience. Completing this eight-week experience will earn you the IDEO U AI x Design Thinking Certificate.

As a limited-time offering, there is only one course run available at the moment for the AI x Design Thinking certificate program. Due to its design, it is not possible to transfer into the individual courses that make up the certificate program content.

The IDEO U AI x Design Thinking Certificate program integrates the content from all three courses into a single eight-week learning experience. Due to its design, it is not recommended to take the certificate program if you’ve already completed one or more of the courses that make up the AI x Design Thinking Certificate program. We recommend that you continue to take the remaining courses as single cohort courses to complete the certificate requirements.

The course starts on April 10, 2025, at 12:00 AM Pacific Time (UTC -7), with the introduction opening.

The AI x Design Thinking Certificate's early bird pricing is a limited-time offer: $1697 vs. the full price of $1,997.

Loved by Learners Across the Globe

Isabela Canezin
Isabela Product Manager Wellzesta
Saugata Chakraborty
Saugata Project Manager Alberta International Medical Graduate Association
Juston Espinoza
Juston Sr. eLearning and Media Production Specialist Spectrum Health
Katelyn Engelking
Katelyn Marketing Operations Analyst Quorum Software
AI x Design Thinking Certificate
Cohort Course

“For me, the course was a career changer. It changed everything for my career, and it still does.”

Isabela Londrina, Brazil
AI x Design Thinking Certificate
Cohort Course

“A key takeaway was recognising where AI can enhance human abilities, such as processing data and multitasking, while preserving the irreplaceable value of human creativity, empathy, and intuition. It provides a framework for using AI ethically to support human-centered solutions, and I’m eager to apply these insights in future work!”

Saugata
AI x Design Thinking Certificate
Cohort Course

“The topics and tools covered go more in depth than anything I learned ‘trial by fire.’ Each module left me buzzing with ideas of how I could instantly apply this to my role and share with my team. I've already put some of these ideas in motion to innovate my team's educational offerings.”

Juston Grand Rapids, MI
AI x Design Thinking Certificate
Cohort Course

“These are key skills and concepts important to every industry, job function, and team structure. Being able to think outside the box, incorporate feedback, and apply it in a meaningful way to solve a challenge is such a wonderful skill to have and build off.”

Katelyn Houston, TX

The IDEO U Learning Experience

See

Our courses engage you through stories, expertise, 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.

Reflect

Our learning experiences have a variety of reflective activities to help you make the connections to your specific work challenges. Reflection is one of the most effective ways to deepen your professional impact.

Try

In order to develop new skills, you need to try them out through repeated practice and exposure to new contexts. Our courses provide opportunities to try out new behaviors online and through real-world projects.

Share

Knowledge is constructed through interaction with others—which is the foundation of our cohort experience. It’s through sharing and discussing with qualified teaching leads and a global peer network that you build greater understanding.

See

Our courses engage you through stories, expertise, 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.

Try

In order to develop new skills, you need to try them out through repeated practice and exposure to new contexts. Our courses provide opportunities to try out new behaviors online and through real-world projects.

Reflect

Our learning experiences have a variety of reflective activities to help you make the connections to your specific work challenges. Reflection is one of the most effective ways to deepen your professional impact.

Share

Knowledge is constructed through interaction with others—which is the foundation of our cohort experience. It’s through sharing and discussing with qualified teaching leads and a global peer network that you build greater understanding.

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