EG2201 - 4

5. Teamwork - Problem Reframing and Diversity

 Lastly, I'd like to reflect on the most important lesson I learned from this course. Initially, I believed that to be innovative or to develop innovative products, a person's ability to conceive creative ideas was paramount. However, during our group project, I discovered that this isn't always the case. The reason being that we already have access to logical frameworks devised by experts, providing us with structured guidance to define problems clearly and devise solutions effectively.
 
What I realized is that a major barrier to creative solutions is often the lack of diverse perspectives. Having lived in Japan for 18 years, I rarely had the opportunity to work with students from varied backgrounds. In this project, however, our team was composed of members with diverse backgrounds, which led to a variety of opinions and significantly enhanced our ability to generate truly creative ideas. I believe that if I had worked alone or with a more homogeneous group, I wouldn’t have been able to come up with such innovative solutions. I am truly grateful for the unique contributions of each of my group mates and the rich collaborative experience they provided.