Social Innovation Project (Lee Qiao Bin 0339005)

Individual Reflection
Description
Semester 3 of my bachelor year has finally started. The university decided to conduct this module online
throughout the semester as the Covid-19 cases are not showing any sign of improvement. When the
module first began, we were required to choose a topic that is related to the theme “Health and
WellBeing”.

Primarily, each of us did our own research and suggested a few innovative ideas. This leads to another
issue which is we could not decide on our topic. When we are contemplating which topics we are going
for, we listen to the other members’ viewpoints and decide to obey the majority. I’m genuinely pleased
that all of our team members were all calm and collected when facing challenges. After multiple
discussions, we decided to work on the topic “Motivation Technology to Improve Mental Health during
the Pandemic among Young Adults”. After interviewing several interviewees in the age range between
18-30 years old, I have learnt that most young adults reported symptoms of anxiety and depressive
disorder due to unhealthy lifestyle during the pandemic.

As the pandemic wore on, many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful, overwhelming and cause
strong emotions. As a group of young adults, our team feels quite disappointed as this topic is often
shadowed by the media. We had to listen to our audience's problems and see the world through the
audience’s eyes. What are their problems and what are the user needs? After a few sessions of internal
brainstorming, we came up with several ideas such as “a smart watch that functions to track and improve
someone’s mental health” and “a website that will provide health beneficial guidelines”. At last, we
decided to design a website that offers various mental health improvement guidelines. I realised that
designing a product isn’t easy. It requires a lot of hard work and persistence. It is undeniable that product
development takes many factors into account and many modifications need to be made before our
prototype is finally ready to be used.

Throughout the semester, we are also required to watch the videos regarding the design thinking process
provided on Times in order to gain more understanding about the topics covered. The videos also assisted
me in developing a more functional prototype that is more beneficial to the user. Finally, we successfully
presented our idea and developed our prototype with positive feedback from our targeted audience.
 Feelings
At the beginning of the semester, I was quite unsure of what to expect in this module as I don't have prior
knowledge about the Social Innovation Project. However, after attending the briefing session hosted by
Mr, Serit Banyan, I was quite surprised by the concept and the entire structure of this course. We are
going to design a product that will bring benefits to today's society! I’m pretty sure this will be an eye-
opening and exhilarating experience as I will also be working alongside peers from different schools. I
can’t wait to meet with people from different courses!

I was quite shy and quiet during the beginning of our meeting, because I felt anxious about making a
mistake that might have left the other team members offended. I believe my initial shyness was because I
felt like I’m incompetent with the team, at the same time I'm slightly intimidated by the team members.
Hence, I decided to muster up the courage to take a risk by speaking up and began to contribute my views
and opinions to the team during the following group meetings. I’m genuinely so proud of myself for
getting out of my comfort zone. After sharing my viewpoints, I feel more included and valued in the
group discussion.

I’m glad that all of our members are very helpful and warm-hearted. During meetings, we generated a
peaceful atmosphere by connecting to one another through small talks about our current condition during
the pandemic. We believe that taking care of the wellness of our team members is a crucial step to
encourage better teamwork and enhance performances. Whenever someone cannot attend the meeting, we
will change the meeting time to a later date so that all members will feel included in the team. The
majority of the discussion went thanks to the corporations and hard work of all members!

Even though the assignment progress did not go according to what we planned, each of us tried our best
to encourage one another, especially in difficult times. For instance when we received our marks for the
presentation, some of us felt disappointed with the marks obtained. We didn't blame each other for who
was at fault. Instead, we resolved the issue by cheering one up another and lifting up the team's dull
atmosphere because we strongly believe that the best is yet to come. I’m genuinely pleased to be part of
this team because I can see how all the members put all their effort into completing this assignment in the
best way possible. I'm also glad that there were no hot-headed people in this team.

Evaluation
Through this module, I’m able to have the opportunity to find solutions to solve real-world issues that I
would not be able to learn in other universities. Design thinking involves five stages - Empathize, Define,
Ideate, Prototype and Test. Hence, I have the chance to realise my entrepreneurial dreams, and receive
guidelines throughout the process from ideation, prototyping and product formulation. This course also
enables us to discover useful tools and websites such as Canva, Wix, Miro and Photoshop that aid us in
the presentation as well as in the prototype development.

In addition, we are required to work in teams with students from different fields of study. For instance,
my team includes students from the School of Computing and Engineering, Hospitality, Design,
Biosciences, Medicine and Business. The collaboration between students from different faculties results
in different perspectives on the way we approach and solve issues. This is because each individual has
unique gifts, talents and skills. Aside from that, we are also able to make friends along the way. It was
fairly hard for us to make friends during online classes as there is no human-to-human interaction
between students. Thus, this grouping provides the opportunity for us to approach people and make
friends during the pandemic. I am also able to gain more insights from different outlooks through the
sharing from my peers. Collaborating with my team members also taught me to be more open-minded to
others ideas and be a better listener. I should pay my full attention when someone else is talking and
avoid interrupting others when they are speaking.

For most of the time, our similarities and differences in values complement each other’s well. For
example, when we’re doing a final check up for our submission, Zhen Han will always be the first one to
realize and point out the shortcomings in our work. The other members and I are able to reduce the
stressful atmosphere by supporting and giving guidance to each other. However, there are certain times
whereby we are swayed away into topics that are irrelevant to the module. Due to this reason, sometimes
our meeting calls are prolonged and less effective. Nevertheless, I believe that everything has its pros and
cons. These small talks outside of our initial goal have undeniably brought our group closer and spark
lasting memories.

Analysis
The reason why most of our group meetings went according to plan is because we have a very responsible
group leader, Steven. He always pre-planned on what should be discussed in the next meeting before the
meeting date. He also set up deadlines for everyone to finish their respective parts in the powerpoint
slides so that we have some time left to do a reversal before the presentation. Other than that, another
reason being the group members are always supportive to each other, even during difficult times.
Ashley was a great help in the design thinking process as she helped us in the design and prototyping
website which is Wix. Besides, whenever we have queries about the Wix website, she would explain and
enlighten us on how to utilize the website and always make sure we understood it completely. Me, Ashley
and Yasmine also worked together to design our miro board. I was responsible for designing the Miro
board for the presentation. Unfortunately, we decided to transfer the content in the board into powerpoint
slides as the coach much prefers us to use powerpoint slides rather than using the Miro board.

Besides, I can see that everyone in their group is always doing their very best in contributing to this group
project even though we are all busy with our respective modules. Everyone in the group did a fair share of
work. Members who contributed more in the website designing process can contribute less in the making
of the final prototype and vice versa.

After each modification of our products, we will ask for advice from Coach Ben to ask if there is any area
of improvement and what is his thought about our ideas. After doing a depth analysis regarding the
feedback given, we will have a clearer understanding on addressing the issue and how to amend our
prototype so that it is more user friendly. For example, Coach Ben commented that our prototype focused
too much on gaining profit and we should have put more effort on making our product more user friendly
instead. After knowing what went wrong, we decided to improvise it for the better.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I’m genuinely pleased to be part of this team because I can see how all the members put all
their effort into completing this assignment in the best way possible. Besides, I had an amazing
experience and learnt the sense of empathy for others. After we have finally completed our final
prototype, I felt it was meaningful as this website can have a good impact in improving the mental health
of young adults.

I have learnt that collaboration is important for idea generation as group members are able to give and
receive feedback about group ideas. My experience in this team has been astonishing. I think that peer
motivation is such an important component in a team. If it was not for our mutual tolerance towards each
other, we would have encountered a lot of conflicts during discussion. Besides, I should have asked more
questions during the consultation slot with Coach Ben to clarify our doubts to prevent misunderstanding
in the first place. This would save a lot of our time for discussion as the direction will be a lot clearer.
The most significant lesson I have learnt is teammates are the most important piece to the puzzle and it is
crucially important that the team could get along and trust each other to build a high efficiency and
dedicated team. Through trust, we are able to understand each other's viewpoints better. I feel content that
I am able to acquire not only research skills, but also communication skills and teamwork. I also miss
working alongside everyone in the team.

Action Plan
In the future, I can apply this knowledge and past experience as my assets for my future group
assignments and in the workplace. The next time I’m doing group work, I will ensure that I will step out
of my comfort zone and actively share my opinions to my group mates and be brave to ask for assistance
from the coach or my group mates if I encounter any uncertainties. This will allow a smoother discussion
as everyone is more active in participating in group discussions. I will also pay my full attention when
someone else is talking and avoid interrupting others when they are speaking. This is to avoid any
unnecessary misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Aside from that, instead of waiting for someone else
to break the ice during the first few group meetings, I should try to initiate a conversation first next time.
This is because a good ice breaker could give a memorable good impression of myself to others. Through
this project, I have a better idea on how to work better in group settings in the future.

In addition, I can also embark the concept of design thinking process into my daily life and in any
industry in the workforce. The design thinking process has been applied into developing new products
and services, and to a whole range of problems. Most of the companies utilize design thinking to develop
possible solutions and produce a marketable product that could tackle real-world problems such as
hunger, inequality and poverty. This thinking process fosters user-centricity, creativity, innovation and
out-of-the box thinking. By utilizing this approach, I am able to build connections with my future end-
users as well as creating values for the customers in the future workforce.