GRADUATE PROGRAM At a glance

Transcription

1 ThinkPlace GRADUATE PROGRAM At a glance PAGE 1

2 Why ThinkPlace DIVERSE AND DYNAMIC TEAM People love being part of the ThinkPlace team. They are passionate and enthusiastic about the work they do. Their energy is contagious. We are diverse, multi-disciplinary and from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. We are passionate and energetic, and love to learn and help people. SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS You get make a real difference. The projects you work on are nationally and internationally significant. We work with some of the largest organisations, using design to transform social, economic and environmental systems. ThinkPlace has the benefits and freedom of private sector and the meaningful work of the public sectors, without the constraints. You have the best of both worlds. FREEDOM and AUTONOMY Our approach is different to traditional ways of working. You are given trust and autonomy in the way you work. People are not micro-managed. Designers are given trust, autonomy and flexibility in their work. It s about delivering great outcomes, not the details of how you get there. SUPPORTIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT You get to work the way that suit you. You have flexibility in where, how and when you work. Our freedom of thinking is reflected in our innovative space. Our offices have whiteboard walls to capture ideas, flexible furniture you can rearrange to suit your needs and a range of working spaces. You will not be stuck at the same desk! Our space is refreshing and stimulating to work in. CAREER DEVELOPMENT We invest in our people. You will get formal and informal training to grow you as a professionally and personally. You get to learn from experts in design and business. You receive formal training from senior designers, as well as on the job training. You will get to rotate on projects to get exposure and experience. You will also get a mentor and a buddy two people who will help you grow as a professional. PAGE 2

3 The application process 1 Apply Send us an ! May 1 to June 30 Write 250 words Why you want an experience with ThinkPlace and what has inspired you What you hope to achieve while working with us What value you will add When you would be available to start work (after your graduation) Attach CV / Resume Academic transcript 2 reference letters from lecturer/ tutor/employer/other Portfolio of work (if applicable), pdf format 3 Assessment centre 4 Become a ThinkPlace Graduate Designer! Potential Graduates that have progressed to this stage will attend an Assessment Centre. August September Successful Graduates will be contacted and starting date and employment package will be arranged. The Program starts in February of the next year. It s time to celebrate! 2 Design assignment July Do a design assignment Shortlisted applicants have 1 week to complete a simple design assignment to test specific skills (problem solving, visual, written, etc.). back with your assignment This is an intensive half-day event where all Graduates go through a series of activities to see if you have what it takes to be a ThinkPlacer. It allows you to meet the ThinkPlace team and see if you would enjoy the type of work we do. These include Group activity Problem solving Individual writing Interview with team members PAGE 3

4 Principles of the ThinkPlace Graduate Program Unlike other Graduate Programs, the ThinkPlace Program is flexible and highly personalised. In principle, it is an extension of your tertiary studies at a Masters level, with a focus on inquiry based learning where you take an active role in your development with the opportunity to apply your learnings in a dynamic work environment. 1 The program is flexible and highly personalised Most Graduate Programs are highly structured with courses and assessments. We believe you will learn more if you learn by doing and are given control over the Program. The ThinkPlace Graduate Program gives you the opportunity to harness your strengths and develop your areas of interest, within the variety of projects that ThinkPlace undertakes. No project is the same. Your experience and learning from every project builds on the one before. You will accumulate experience and new knowledge through an action learning approach: you will experience working on a project as part of a team, make sense of you experience through reflection and research, turn your experience and insights into new knowledge. 2 3 You are an active driver Throughout the Program, you have the freedom to choose your own focus of inquiry. You will shape a thesis that contextualises and consolidates your learning throughout your project work, reflection and independent research. You will actively seek input, peer review and mentorship for the duration of the Program. You are supported You will be given every opportunity to succeed. In achieving your learning goal, you will have the direction and support of a mentor, experienced colleagues and range of resources including the ThinkPlace Knowledge Base. PAGE 4

5 Design at ThinkPlace ThinkPlace has a diverse and complex knowledge base. Human centred design thinking and systems thinking underpin our key discipline areas. The ThinkPlace team all work across the depth and breadth of the practice and as a cross disciplinary team everyone has different areas of specialist knowledge and expertise. The Graduate Program aims to build your capacity to work in a cross disciplinary way as well as building a depth of competency in some areas. An integration of project work, research and reflection will form the basis of a self directed program that scaffolds your learning from an introduction to competence in these areas. Pace, energy and direction and collaboration are central to the ThinkPlace ethos. Source ThinkPlace Design System PAGE 5

6 Your 12 month journey Your Graduate Program year will have three key focus areas: 1. Consulting real work and real challenges 2. Reflection internal business projects that help build a great business 3. Research you will write a 3,000 word publishable thesis Graduate Designer January Mentor (day-to-day and research) Executive Designer Informal On the job / as needed Help with research thesis SUPPORT SYSTEM Unboss (career) Principal or Partner Tune Up sessions Career planning Business Designer December Community of Practice Fortnightly peer learning sessions Toolbox Manual Skill Builders Bloomfire Your stretch goals At the end of your Graduate Program, you will be able to: Produce a quality conversation tracker Write a consulting proposal Plan a project (Tier 3) Co-facilitate a workshop PAGE 6

7 Consulting projects We will endeavour to give you exposure to a variety of projects to give you the best overview of what ThinkPlace does. You may begin work on consulting projects very early during your Graduate Program. Due to the nature of consulting work, the projects you will work on will vary in type, number, duration and size. One of your key roles in consulting projects is to learn as much as you can and help deliver the work for the client. In addition, it will be your role to complete a one page case study at the end of every project so that it can be shared with the rest of the ThinkPlace team. Tune Ups Part of ThinkPlace s development program, tune-ups are constructive conversations that are held quarterly with one of the Principals or Partners. ThinkPlace takes development seriously. Our goal is that each year, a person in ThinkPlace can say that their job is broader and more fulfilling than the job that they had the year before. The conversation has several purposes: To look at your accomplishments over the past quarter To see how your accomplishments can be expanded To allow any issues to be raised by you or the Principals/Partners To identify any outliers on the stress continuum To review your career plan and To review performance in the previous quarter PAGE 7

8 Reflection work In addition to consulting projects, you will have time to reflect. Reflection will consist of developing your thesis and contributing to Building a Great Business projects, aka BGB. BGB work includes are range of internal projects that seek to improve the way we organise, manage, and execute our work. Some examples include: Setting up a new Client Relationship Management System Finding new and innovative ways to use technology in design workshops Re-designing a part of the ThinkPlace office BGB projects are often worked on in small groups of 2 3 people and are run much like a consulting project. During your year in the Graduate Program you will likely work on several BGB projects. PAGE 8

9 Research Research is a component of your Grad Program think of it as a thesis or a white paper. We expect this to be of a standard that it is publishable at the end of your Graduate year. You will develop your research piece with the support of your mentor and the ThinkPlace team. You will present your research piece to the ThinkPlace Community of Practice, and formally to the ThinkPlace Executive at the end of the year. The research paper will be based on a project you have had exposure to or involvement in be on a topic that has sparked an interest in you Be worked on by you and worked up with your Mentor over the course of your 12 month Graduate Program Be 3,000 words (or thereabouts!) The Tune Ups will act as touch points and deadlines for your research paper (although your Tune Ups will be with your Unboss) Meet up with your Mentor to work through your paper at each quarter. March Tune Up have some initial ideas July Tune Up have chosen your topic and question October Tune Up completed first draft December Tune Up review of your completed paper and given a presentation to the ThinkPlace team at a Community of Practice session Principles for your research paper 1. Your paper must add to the design thinking field by adding new knowledge 2. Your question must be unique and specific 3. Your paper must be publishable at the end of the year 4. You must support your paper with the 1 page Case Studies that you have written for each of the consulting projects you have been on PAGE 9

10 THROUGHOUT SUMMARY WHAT Your first week Induction Week Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Welcome and settle in Get the basics right Experience what its like Reflection and learning Getting into it You will be introduced to ThinkPlace the people, the space, the projects You will learn all about ThinkPlace, who we are, what we stand for and basic consulting survival skills You will shadow a ThinkPlace team/s for a day You will have a chance to reflect on Day 3 and progress your learning You start work on a project to put your new knowledge into practice Today is all about familiarising yourself with ThinkPlace ThinkPlace tour Induction Equipment set up Meet your buddy Management arrangements About ThinkPlace (Who we are and our clients) Write in Grad Diary Today you start learning how to be a design consultant ThinkPlace Identity, Vision, Principles etc. Our services TP Design System Design Thinking methodologies Basic consulting skills, e.g. time management, info design, client engagement, research Write in Grad Diary There s nothing like getting right into it! You will accompany a consultant to a client visit or do some client work at ThinkPlace Write in Grad Diary Now that you have experienced real project work, it s time to reflect. What did you learn? Come up with questions Time with buddy for Q&A Visual thinking course Write in Grad Diary Day 5 is about you settling in at your desk and starting work on a client or internal project. Visual thinking course Write in Grad Diary After work, there is a Grad Welcome Dinner for the whole ThinkPlace team to celebrate your first week! Meet the team! You will get to spend approx. 30mins with each of the other ThinkPlace team members, getting to know them and learning about a project they are working on. This will help you get exposure to the many aspects of design - the context, challenges, clients, services and methodologies. Grad Diary For the first three months of you time with ThinkPlace, we ask that you keep a weekly diary of your experience, your learnings and your questions. This reflection is an important part of your learning. You will hand in your Grad Diary at the first Training Day in March. We ve even made a template for you to use! PAGE 10