Increasing the MVPS footprint even further, Dr. Jacobsen was invited to be the keynote speaker at the American School of Bombay’s ASB-Unplugged Design Thinking conference in Mumbai, India at the beginning of April.
Gathering educators and administrators from New Delhi, Singapore, Qatar and other far reaches of the world, this international conference was designed to disrupt and impact the future through Design Thinking.
Experts connected, listened and learned how to use Design Thinking to transform and support learning in their organizations and better prepare their students, faculty and staff for a fast-changing, fast-thinking world.
Seventeen social entrepreneurs from India who started their own businesses or non-profits were an integral part of the conference work. Conference participants grouped together to join one of the 17 entrepreneurs to create real world solutions for the organization’s specific challenges. Through ideating, sticky storytelling and prototyping, #asbunplugged teams amazed their end users by quickly finding real solutions and generating positive results through the DT process.
Dr. Brett Jacobsen
Head of School of Mount Vernon Presbyterian School, Founder of Mount Vernon Institute of Innovation
Educational entrepreneur. Moonshot thinker. 21st century designer. Dr. Brett Jacobsen has emerged as an innovative leader in K-12 education.
Redefining school, Brett advocates for a new kind of framework for this generation of students. A 21st century framework for redesigning student success and demonstrating student mastery requires all learning communities to develop a relevant and innovative learning and assessment map for each student; recognizes the critical process of employing a variety of approaches and methodologies in order to engage and motivate students of this generation; and prioritizes the training and development of teachers in a fast paced digitally-based global marketplace.
Leading Mount Vernon through a transformational period, Brett launched the Mount Vernon Institute for Innovation (MVIFI) comprised of The Center for Design Thinking, The Center for Global Competitiveness, and The Center for Citizen Leadership. Focused on addressing local and global challenges, MVIFI cultivates public-private partnerships to foster creative collaboration at the intersections of the marketplace, education sector, nonprofit and civic communities. A national leader in Design Thinking, Brett and his MVIFI team lead //fuse – an annual summit sharing Mount Vernon’s process in Design Thinking as a way to increase the critical mass of public and private schools immersed in human-centered problem solving.
Brett shares and expands his influence through his blogging, tweeting, and presenting at regional and national conferences. He also hosts a podcast – Design Movement, a 21st century learning and leadership conversation with business leaders, educational innovators, and nonprofit trailblazers. In addition, Brett serves as a board member of LEAD (Leadership Education and Development), an organization focused on education access and excellence for students from diverse backgrounds. He is a proud member of the Leadership Atlanta class of 2013.
