This optional workshop will be held on Friday and Saturday, the week before before the regular workshops starts. This preparatory workshop will only be held if at least 6 participants have registered by mid-June and is limited to 10 participants.
This two-day workshop is free of charge to participants of regular workshops or can be booked by itself for a fee.
Sebastian Kernbach is a PhD candidate in Communication Science and is associated with the Institute of Marketing and Communication Management at the University of Lugano and the Institute of Media and Communications Management at the University of St. Gallen where he works as project manager, research associate, and instructor.
His research focuses on the role of visual thinking in interpersonal interactions in the context of Professional Services Firms. He is particularly interested in enhancing interactions between consultants and clients through visualization. In addition he provides workshops for professionals, researcher and lecturer on visual thinking.
Prior to his research he worked as consultant for Interbrand, as Head of Branding and Communication of a Swiss startup and as Manager for Marketing and Communication for XEROX. He studied Business Administration and Communication in Düsseldorf, Breda, Lugano, and Copenhagen.
The overall aim of this workshop is to help participants enhance their thinking and communication skills through the use of visual thinking such as diagrams, knowledge maps or visual metaphors. Working on the dissertation or research papers can be frustrating at times. Sometimes it may be because we feel overloaded with ideas and thoughts (cognitively), or we may feel overwhelmed and not motivated (emotionally), or we feel disconnected to our supervisor or peers (socially). Visual thinking is promising to overcome those challenges and work more productively and enjoyable.
This workshop will provide participants with the foundation of what visual thinking is and why it is beneficial for our thinking and communication. Based on these foundations participants will learn more about the benefits and risks of visual thinking. Participants will see different visual forms through examples (tree diagrams, empathy maps and many more) and acquire sketching skills to express themselves visually. (You don't have to be a good drawer or creative to be able to sketch!) Participants will apply what they have learned to visualizing the story of their PhD or research project and the process of conducting a literature review. In addition you are more than welcome to bring your current research problem or challenge so that we can tackle it visually.
The objectives of the workshop are that participants should
The workshop will be hands-on with short inputs from the instructor and time to work on the exercises and own projects visually where the instructor and peers will operate as sparring partner in a friendly environment.
No particular prerequisites are required. An open mind and curiosity are very welcome. Please note that visual thinking does not require any specific drawing skills. In fact drawing too beautifully can be a preventer from the value of visual thinking. So please don't be shy and join even if you think of yourself as a not so good drawer.