2021 - 2022

Service Design Consultant & Educator

Working for the Service Design Academy, gave me the opportunity to teach students (largely from businesses from around the world) accredited design methodologies which they could apply within their professional practices. Within a further education institution and accredited by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

My main responsibilities included:

  • Developing short-courses for organisations around the world in service design practice

  • Lecturing accredited modules in i) user research, ii) co-design, iii) tools and methods as per the curriculum accredited by the Service Design Network (SDN) and Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)

  • Providing service design consultancy to Dundee & Angus College departments, including student support, the built-environment around campuses, theatre and public event spaces.

1. User Research

Teaching organisations around the world, from Riyadh to the USA, the value of qualitative and quantitative user research methods within service design and improvement.

2.  Co-Design

Teaching co-design practice, participatory-led relationship working, the values to organisations, communities and elevating users beyond consultation to positions of genuine influence.

3. Design Tools & Methods

Implementing design tools & methods within organisations, ranging from discovery techniques, to facilitation methods, ideation and prototyping.

4. Assessment

Marking and assessing service design students against course curriculum, submitting assessments to governing bodies and awarding qualifications.

Knowledge obtained in this role

  • A robust awareness of how to break service design process down into manageable chunks of learning and modules. To effectively up-skill professionals and organisations in the value of design.

  • How and where to implement service design effectively within organisational contexts, product and service environments. Showcasing the value of design across digital, in-person and built environment experiences.

Working as a service design educator for SDA taught me how to be a facilitator & public speaker

  • At SDA I would build relationships with cohorts of students from all walks of life and from around the world.

  • Teaching classes in-person and online, at scale to groups of around 60 to smaller intimate lectures.

  • The key was to be a strong communicator, purposeful but also playful, engaging and to immerse people in the value of design.

  • Doing so for a year, this role elevated my facilitation and public speaking ability to new levels. Having previously spoken at conferences in my senior role at charity Shelter, but never to the frequency and consistency of week-to-week at SDA.

Challenges

  • The pace of work and context switching at SDA can be demanding. Pivoting between providing consultancy to a theatre in Dundee on the Monday, to a tech organisation in Riyadh on the Wednesday.

  • As design evolves, the curriculum within further education colleges moves at a slower space. There can at times be a conflict between what you can teach within design curriculum and the pace that design, prototyping etc is moving externally.

  • "Working for SDA as an educator in service design globally, elevated my public speaking and facilitation skills to new levels."

    Nate G Sheach, 2022