Creative Methods for Real World Challenges UCL

Overview

By the end of this Creative Methods for Real World Challenges course from UCL Summer School you will have gained hands-on experience of creative problem-solving, explored how London’s diverse communities and urban ecologies shape innovation, and learned how to turn concepts into workable ideas that respond to real-world contexts — in London and in your home cities.

Through interactive workshops, you will work with practical methods such as design thinking, systems mapping, and co-design. These sessions help you understand how creative and collaborative approaches can reveal insights, spark new perspectives, and support better decision-making. Light fieldwork, reflective walks, and short observational tasks encourage you to notice how wellbeing, creativity, and city life shape one another in everyday situations.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students will have:

• Applied creative and collaborative methods (such as design thinking, systems mapping, or co-design) to investigate and respond to real-world challenges.

• Analysed how social, organisational, or environmental contexts shape complex problems, drawing connections between evidence, stakeholder perspectives, and potential solutions.

• Worked effectively in diverse, interdisciplinary teams, demonstrating clear communication, negotiation, and shared decision-making skills.

• Translated ideas into practical proposals, using appropriate visual, written, or digital formats to present a coherent case for change.

• Critically evaluated their own contribution to collaborative work, reflecting on personal development, ethics, and the challenges of working across disciplines and perspectives.

• Communicated insights clearly to varied audiences, selecting suitable language, tone, and media to convey complex ideas accessibly and persuasively.