Pre-Conference Workshop A4
A4 - Designing for Impact: A JTBD Approach to Systemic Education Reform
Date Wednesday, 2 Dec Time – Room: Charlottenburg III Price: 95.00 € Status: places available
Peter Gillis
Lead Researcher, Learnovate Centre, Trinity College Dublin
Dr Peter Gillis Researcher and Academic with expertise in the psychology of learning, innovation, and digital strategy. Peter has developed a career at the intersection of educational research and organisational practice, with a particular focus on the design and evaluation of technology-enhanced learning. Peter’s academic background includes a First Class Honours degree in Psychology, an MSc in Technology-Enhanced Learning from Trinity College Dublin, and a PhD on the psychology of academic motivation, also at Trinity College Dublin. These studies have provided a rigorous foundation for both Peter’s research and teaching, with a strong emphasis on motivation, learning theory, and applied innovation frameworks. Peter has published and presented on topics relating to innovation in education and has held leadership roles that combine team management with research excellence. His ongoing research interests include the challenges of sustaining academic motivation and learning in rapidly evolving environments, transversal and digital skill development, and the role of structured innovation in shaping the future of work.
How can we make sure we are solving the right problems before designing new solutions? In education and EdTech, innovation often starts with assumptions about what learners, educators or organisations need. The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) approach shifts the focus from products and solutions to the underlying challenges people are trying to solve. Developed by Learnovate, the edtech research and innovation centre at Trinity College Dublin, this approach has recently been applied in initiatives such as the EDEH: EU EdTech for Sovereign Education Futures project.
In this hands-on workshop, participants will be introduced to the JTBD framework and learn how to move from assumptions to evidence-based insights. Using real-world challenges related to EdTech and sovereign education futures, they will identify meaningful “jobs to be done”, develop proto-personas, and explore the problems, barriers and desired outcomes connected to them. Participants will also learn how to formulate and refine Job Statements that provide a clear starting point for innovation.
Through practical exercises and guided collaboration, participants will apply JTBD techniques to a challenge relevant to their own context and explore how to validate assumptions with target audiences. They will leave with a practical, repeatable framework for identifying meaningful problems and translating deeper user insights into opportunities for impactful solutions.
Agenda:
- Welcome & Scene Setting (20 min)
- JTBD & Design Thinking: Methods & Team Formation (20 min)
- User-Segment Deep Dive: Framing the Challenge (30 min)
- Proto-Persona Development (20 min)
- Uncovering Jobs To Be Done & Barriers (30 min)
- Ranking Jobs & Barriers: Identifying Priorities (30 min)
- Full-Room Discussion & Sharing (30 min)
Target Audience: Education and Innovation Leaders, Strategists, Innovation Leads, Entrepreneurs and Founders, Product Managers and Designers, Educators and Trainers
Target Audience Sector: Primary Education, Secondary Education, TVET / Vocational Education, Higher Education, Adult / Continuing Education, EdTech
Prerequisite Knowledge: No prior knowledge of Jobs To Be Done is required. Participants should bring an education, learning or innovation challenge they would like to explore.
Expected Outcomes:
- Understand the core principles of the Jobs To Be Done approach.
- Identify the underlying problems, barriers and desired outcomes behind a real-world education challenge.
- Develop Job Statements and proto-personas to guide problem-led innovation.
- Apply practical techniques to validate assumptions with target audiences and identify opportunities for impactful solutions.