Essential Skills Immersion Series: Curiosity
What are the most in-demand skills for today’s job market and the future of work? Each semester, this event series offers a week of sessions built around a specific skill to help students consider this question as they prepare for the careers of today and tomorrow. These sessions are designed to provide you with the knowledge of in-demand skills and opportunities to develop them, connect you with employers who seek these skills and help you articulate your career readiness to employers.
Curiosity
Our world is constantly evolving — with changes in the way we live and work, challenges like pandemics and climate change, and the proliferation of emerging technologies and AI. In this environment, workplaces will need to adapt to remain successful, and to do that, they need people who take creative and unique approaches to problem-solving, engage in systems thinking, are open to different perspectives, and will be able to adapt to jobs that don’t yet exist. In a nutshell: people who are curious. LinkedIn data shows job postings which mention curiosity are up 71% and postings that mention the need for curiosity have increased 90%.
By participating in these sessions, you will learn how to leverage curiosity in strategic thinking, innovation and design thinking. You will also learn how to hone curiosity as a skill and how to articulate curiosity as a competitive competency for internship and career goals.
Co-Hosts:
Texas Career Engagement
The Provost Office of Academic Affairs
School of Design and Creative Technologies, College of Fine Arts
Programs
Curiosity and Strategic Thinking
Tuesday, October 24, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Texas Career Engagement, FAC 2.236
Facilitator: Dr. Art Markman, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, UT Austin
Food will be served.
Success at work requires knowing what things need to be done and how to do them. Successful leadership also requires knowing why those tasks need to be done — to rise to inevitable challenges. The difficulty with being a good strategic thinker is that it is often difficult to know in advance what problems are going to arise. As a result, the most creative problem solvers engage in lifelong learning, a love of systems thinking and an openness to new approaches. In short, they are curious.
In this session, participants will gain
- Knowledge of how curiosity enhances strategic thinking
- Strategies for motivating curiosity
- Understanding of why good strategic thinkers have broad bases of knowledge
Panelists
- Bjorn Billhardt, CEO and Founder of the leadership development company Abilitie and a UT Graduate
- Cyndee Lake, a consultant for Blank Page who is a graduate of the Human Dimensions of Organizations master’s program
Curiosity and Human-Centered Design
Wednesday, October 25, 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Texas Career Engagement, FAC 2.236
Facilitator: Doreen Lorenzo, Assistant Dean, School of Design and Creative Technologies, College of Fine Arts
Food will be served.
Curiosity is a key ingredient for successful design. It helps you explore new possibilities, challenge assumptions, and empathize with your users. But how do you foster and ignite curiosity? One method is using human-centered design (design thinking) as a problem-solving technique that puts the humans at the center of the development process, enabling you to create products and services that resonate and are tailored to your audience’s needs.
The goal is to keep users’ wants, pain points, and preferences front of mind during every phase of the process. In turn, you’ll build more intuitive, accessible product and service that are likely to be used because your customers have already vetted the solution and feel more invested in using it.
Participants will gain:
- Knowledge of Design Thinking and why it is important
- How to gain qualitative insights
- How to turn insights into products and services
Panelists
- Collin Cole, UT BFA Design – Senior Client Lead, USA Lynxeye
- Jenny Cole, BA French Language and Literature – Lead Design Researcher, Vidlet
Resources
What’s Your Curiosity Style?
From IQ to EQ to CQ…curiosity is emerging as a new superpower in our personal and professional lives. Take the Curiosity Styles Assessment to help you discover the dimensions of your curiosity, explore what makes you tick, and unlock areas for growth.
Career Counseling and Coaching for All Majors
Would you like to learn more about honing and articulating your curiosity skills while at UT, and about promoting your sense of curiosity for the job or internship search? Schedule an appoitment for one-on-one support with your college or school career center or Texas Career Engagement.
LinkedIn Learning Playlist
UT Austin students have free access to LinkedIn Learning where you can continue exploring your curiosity and curiosity-related skills.
- Leverage the Power of Curiosity at Work to Adapt and Grow
- Thinking Creatively
- Design Thinking – Understanding the Process
- Leading with Innovation
- How to Think Strategically
Job Simulations
UT Austin students have free access to virtual job simulations that help you understand and experience project-based work performed by employees at leading companies and organizations.
- Accenture – “Future Innovator in Training”
- Accenture – “Product Design”
- BCG – “Introduction to Strategy Consulting”
- BCG X – “Strategic and Human-Centered Experience Design”
- Cognizant – “Agile Methodology”
- GE Aerospace – “Explore Digital Technology”
- Y Combinator – “Working at a Startup”