Design thinking and professional competencies in higher education: A systematic review

Authors

  • Bernardo Corona Domínguez Universidad Nacional Rosario Castellanos image/svg+xml
  • Robert Aldo Velásquez Huerta Daniel Alcides Carrión National University image/svg+xml
  • Liliana Marcela Mendoza Montoya National University of Trujillo image/svg+xml
  • Enrique Leveau Tuanama Universidad Nacional de San Martín image/svg+xml

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24125634

Keywords:

design thinking, collaborative learning, professional skills, higher education, educational innovation

Abstract

University training requires pedagogical experiences that link disciplinary knowledge with the ability to collaborate, formulate proposals and respond to problems in the professional environment. In this context, design thinking has acquired relevance for integrating the understanding of human needs, collective ideation and experimentation in contextualized learning processes. The objective of the research was to analyze the scientific evidence on the contribution of design thinking to collaborative learning and the development of professional skills in university students, considering implementation strategies, pedagogical conditions and evaluation procedures. To this end, a systematic review with a descriptive and integrative approach was developed, the presentation of which followed the recommendations of PRISMA 2020 in order to promote transparency in the identification, selection and synthesis of publications. The findings suggest that design thinking contributes to teamwork, creativity and joint problem solving, through the exchange of perspectives and the development of proposals that can be improved. These contributions were related to teacher mediation, organization of responsibilities, and feedback opportunities. It is concluded that design thinking offers possibilities to articulate collaboration with professional training when there is coherence between educational objectives, activities and evaluation. However, the methodological diversity of the studies limited the comparison and generalization of the results.

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Published

2026-11-11

How to Cite

Corona Domínguez, B., Velásquez Huerta, R. A., Mendoza Montoya, L. M., & Leveau Tuanama, E. (2026). Design thinking and professional competencies in higher education: A systematic review. InveCom Journal, 6(Especial 3), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24125634