Gulfstream Center of Design
Cultural Intelligence
SCAD’s Gulfstream Center of Design (Gulfstream) caters to a diverse group of students and faculty members from different parts of the world. Each individual brings a rich cultural experience on board with them. Students and faculty members work together in teams where they get an opportunity to share their unique cultural experiences and skills with each other. The project focuses on these unique cultural characteristics and their effect on the learning experience for the community.
The objective of this project was to identify the challenges of the multicultural academic environment at Gulfstream, in order to develop strategies to increase cultural intelligence. These strategies may lead to enhance understanding amongst the stakeholders and therefore improve the experience of collaboration at Gulfstream.
Focus: identifying the challenges of the multicultural academic environment at Gulfstream, in order to develop strategies to increase cultural intelligence and improve the experience of collaboration at Gulfstream.
Services: research, capacity building, prototyping, user testing, user experience, facilitation, workshop design.
How Might We Leverage The Multicultural Experience At Gulfstream To Successfully Work Across Cultures?
Research
Through this project, the team sought to understand the socio-cultural interactions taking place within a specific location. For data collection, we conducted interviews, surveys, fly on the wall and shadowing observations, to obtain information about experiences, opinions and perceptions of the stakeholder group.
"My biggest frustration is probably when people don’t appreciate or don’t take the time to appreciate other cultures. I have probably more difficulty with people who have blinders or don’t wish to spend energy understanding other cultures."
The initial research question was confirmed by the primary research results. However, the approach to generate successful work across cultures was changed. Instead of using the individual’s own culture as a tool, the final solution uses understanding cultures within a group as means to bring people together and break stereotypes.
Analysis and Prototyping
For data analysis and synthesis, we used ecosystem map, opportunity map, implementation plan, affinity map, personas, findings at a glance, and design criteria. As result, we found 5 areas that could serve as channel to leverage the multicultural experience at Gulfstream: branding, cultural events, music, space interventions and games. We ran rapid prototypes to test their impact at Gulfstream. After user testing the games proved to best leverage the multicultural environment by providing an adaptable and accessible medium for changing situations. These situations were later analyzed for the development of an implementation plan.
Final Offering
Team Up evolved after examining numerous ideas, developing a series of prototypes and testing with stakeholders at Gulfstream. Team Up leverages multicultural experience at Gulfstream by:
Providing an opportunity to discover more about individual cultures present at Gulfstream.
Creating a premise to discover more about individual personalities and behaviors.
Providing a medium to break the ice in a new team or group working together for the first time.
Breaking the stereotype images of people from different cultural backgrounds and discovering things beyond the obvious.
