In the third session, participants received a lecture on “survey design” from program advisor Rene Osorio, who has experience working as an economic advisor to the Inter-American Development Bank and the Nicaraguan government. Today’s content covered important elements for designing a survey, such as setting of research objectives, question format, and sample selection. Designing a survey usually costs a huge amount of money, so it is rarely done at the government level. However, the students participating in the SEED program this time have the opportunity to design their own surveys, which is a very difficult but valuable opportunity for growth.
Next, Professor Fausto from Austral University gave a lecture on design thinking. As students progress with their research, they were shown how to flexibly change the way to conduct research based on the stages of design thinking. While conducting surveys and interviews as appropriate, students were shown case studies and examples on how to correctly define issues and produce effective design and results.
Participating students developed a stronger understanding of the research and entrepreneurial methodologies that will help them uncover the information they need through interviews and research before meeting with local producers of the Yamanashi Prefecture.
