Reflecting on Design Thinking and Communication (DTC)
In this Q&A, Sahana Vandayar (BS '24), a consulting associate at accounting firm PwC, reflects on how Northwestern's Design Thinking and Communication (DTC) two-quarter course shaped her engineering education and prepared her for a career in consulting.
What drew you to the DTC program?
I learned about DTC when I toured Northwestern. The marketing worked because it was the reason I ended up applying to McCormick and Northwestern. My tour guide was actually a civil engineering major who had gone through the DTC curriculum, and she shared her experiences of working on teams with other first years and being assigned to Chicago-area project partners.
How was DTC different from other first year courses?
As a first-year student, you always feel thrown to the sharks. You're taking calculus, chemistry, computer science – everything is very different from high school. DTC was different too, but that difference was something I welcomed. For the first time, I got to chat with peers going through the same experiences and discuss why we had chosen engineering. We finally got to use our creative abilities that felt restricted in other classes.
What real-world projects did you work on?
In my first quarter, I worked with a local nonprofit focused on the Chicago River. We were tasked with designing a device that swept up surface-level trash. For my second quarter, I worked with the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab to design a way for someone with limited mobility to put on a face mask – this was during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it was a very relevant challenge.
What was the most challenging aspect of DTC?
One of the biggest challenges that almost every peer of mine struggled with was communication. It's the first time your entire project depends on the performance of you and your peers. Your professors aren't there to tell you exactly what's right or wrong, because there is no right or wrong. I was so used to getting math worksheets back and seeing how many answers I got right. For the first time, I was being graded not just on the quality of my work, but on how well I communicated it.
How did DTC change your approach to problem-solving?
Before DTC, when I came up with a solution for any problem, I wasn't always thinking about who it affected and how it affected them. But when you're assigned a real project partner, you think more about their experience. You're not just thinking about the best way to collect trash on the Chicago River – you're thinking about who's going to operate that device, who's going to maintain it, and how to make that process easier for them.
What were your three biggest takeaways from DTC?
- Communication: Everything you come up with needs to be effectively communicated, or it holds very little weight.
- Design Process: It was one of the first opportunities as an engineer to formally learn how to design something effectively for both your team and your user.
- Mentorship: The professors felt more like mentors who guided our thinking rather than just telling us what to do.
What advice would you give to students starting DTC?
It's exactly what you make of the experience. If you come in ready to build your communication skills and design thinking skills, you will get what you want out of it. Your professors are there to guide and mentor you, but that relationship is one that only you can build. Don't let DTC get lost among your other classes – focus on building relationships with your team, professor, and project partner.
How has DTC influenced your future career plans?
The program has been transformative in how I think with other people, how I communicate, and how I approach ideation. These skills have prepared me well for my future career – I'm planning to pursue tech consulting in the Chicago area after graduation.
What made the experience particularly meaningful?
It was the first time I ever tangibly built something I had come up with. Anyone can generate ideas, but how many of those ideas actually get pushed beyond paper? The opportunity to take something from a concept to a tangible prototype was special, especially doing it with others. By the end, we felt a sense of ownership that was very different from other college experiences – we had done the research, improved the ideas, and created something that was truly ours.