Event Documentation
Bandung – 25 December 2025. The concept of design thinking, traditionally taught in higher education classrooms, has now been introduced in a more grounded and engaging form. A team of lecturers from the School of Creative Industries (FIK), Telkom University, implemented a design thinking approach through an educational card game for children at the Tunas Melati Children’s Social Orphanage in Bandung as part of a Community Service Program.
The activity was designed to foster empathy, creativity, and problem-solving skills through non-formal, game-based learning. Instead of conventional lecture-based methods, the lecturers chose a card game as the primary learning medium, allowing children to learn actively, collaboratively, and reflectively.
The card game was developed by the FIK Telkom University team and consists of 150 cards across various categories, including values, personas, insights, problems, constraints, innovations, stories, and plot twists. Through these cards, participants were encouraged to understand different perspectives, identify problems, and collaboratively develop solutions.
The head of the program, Didit Widiatmoko Soewardikoen, explained that the initiative was motivated by the need for non-formal learning methods that can contextually develop children’s soft skills. According to him, children in orphanages have significant potential that must be nurtured through appropriate approaches.
“Children in orphanages do not only need academic support, but also spaces to develop empathy, creativity, and the confidence to express ideas. This card game was designed to allow them to learn through play, without pressure,” said Didit.
He added that design thinking was chosen because it places humans at the center of the learning process. Rather than being asked to immediately find answers, children are first guided to understand the feelings and needs of others before developing solutions.
A similar view was expressed by Hanif Azhar, a member of the implementation team. He stated that the activity represents the downstream application of academic knowledge from higher education to the community. Both Didit and Hanif teach Design Thinking and its implementation in the Master’s (S2) Program in Design at the School of Creative Industries, Telkom University.
“Design thinking is usually taught at the master’s level within the context of industry and innovation. Through this community service activity, we aim to demonstrate that the same approach can be simplified and made relevant for children in orphanages,” Hanif explained.
According to him, the card game serves as an effective bridge for introducing design thinking concepts without requiring children to understand complex technical terminology. Despite the simplicity, the children still engage in empathic thinking, problem formulation, and solution development in an enjoyable atmosphere.
During the activity, the children actively participated in small group discussions under the guidance of facilitators. The sessions were highly interactive, with children listening to one another and working together to complete challenges presented in the game.
One participant, Yudi, shared that the experience was both memorable and meaningful. He noted that the activity was not only fun but also provided valuable learning outcomes.
“The activity was enjoyable because we could play while learning. I learned how to solve problems together with friends and listen to other people’s opinions. It helped improve my problem-solving soft skills,” Yudi said.
The orphanage management welcomed the initiative and expressed hope that similar programs could be continued in the future. They observed that game-based learning methods encouraged children to speak up and express ideas more confidently compared to typical non-formal mentoring activities.
The program received funding support from Telkom University through the Directorate of Research and Community Service (PPM). This support enabled the development of practical learning media with direct social impact.
Through this initiative, Telkom University reaffirms its commitment to community service that is knowledge-based, innovative, and socially relevant. The design thinking approach commonly applied in higher education has now been expanded to support capacity building among children in orphanages.
Looking ahead, the lecturer team hopes that this design thinking card game can be replicated in other orphanages and non-formal educational institutions, allowing more children to experience enjoyable learning while developing essential social and problem-solving skills from an early age.