Milstein Program Special Event: Innovation by Design with Dr. Virginia Rath

How does innovation happen? What tools do I need to create products or services that people will love? 

Innovation is fundamentally a way of materializing users needs and the success of any innovation relies on a deep connection with stakeholders. In this workshop, we use Design Thinking to explore qualitative approaches (customer observations and ethnographic interviews) to understand end-users. The art of this understanding comes from developing empathy and true curiosity about the ‘ordinary’ in people’s lives to uncover unspoken (or emerging) needs from their stories. Be ready to dive in and get some practice!

Virginia Rath is an accomplished scientist, design research consultant and serial entrepreneur with broad expertise in education, health care, biotech and consumer products. She combines hands-on business experience with a strong science background to evaluate technology businesses and marketing strategies. She has been a Lecturer in the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and in the d.school at Stanford University. 

Virginia received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of California at San Francisco. She has dual MBA degrees from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University in New York.