Beyond Design Thinking: An Active Learning Framework for Systematic Soft Skills in Higher Education

Abstract

Soft skills development is critical in higher education amid evolving labour-market demands and Education 4.0, yet universities struggle to integrate these skills systematically into curricula. Although Design Thinking (DT) shows promise for transferable learning, phase-structured pedagogical models that explicitly align DT activities, defined skills, and assessment sources remain limited. This study develops and provides preliminary empirical evidence for DT4SS ( Design Thinking for Soft Skills ), a structured model that adapts DT into five pedagogical phases—empathise, ideate and define, communicate and share, prototype and test, and assess and reflect—to support eight soft skills. Using a longitudinal mixed-methods design, DT4SS was implemented across four master’s programmes at a European design institution with 48 students from 19 nationalities working in 11 interdisciplinary teams over 20 weeks. The quantitative dataset comprised two self-assessment occasions (pre and post) and a final peer co-assessment (P2P); qualitative evidence included teacher observations, course artefacts, and 14 semi-structured interviews. The findings provide preliminary evidence of within-group development associated with participation in DT4SS. The absence of a control group, skill-specific missingness, reliance on a brief three-item self-report per skill, and limited self–peer agreement constrain causal and measurement interpretation. Controlled multi-site replication, repeated behavioural assessment, and longitudinal follow-up are required.