designing your life for universities
A creative and generative framework, that aims to address ambiguity, is more important now than ever. Research has shown that the youth of today, more often than not, feel uncertain about future career choices.
Developed at Stanford, the “Designing Your Life” (DYL) course quickly became
the most popular elective at the university.
It is one of few classes that has been scientifically studied and proven to make a difference for students across a number of different measures—such as being able to better conceive and pursue a career of their liking and increased ability to generate new ideas for life projects.
The Stanford Life Design Lab
The Life Design Lab (d.life) at Stanford teaches courses, delivers programmes and tools, and conducts research applying the innovation principles of Design Thinking to the problems of life, education, and vocation.
Following the success of the Life Design classes at Stanford, universities across the world—from Cornell to Cape Town—are launching life design experiments of their own, including seminars for hundreds of undergraduates, career development courses and workshops, and even training for staff.
The Ashoka University Experience
“
This course would be one of the courses I will never forget.
”
Tshering Choden Student, Life Design Studio Course ‘23
Ashoka University’s InfoEdge Centre for Entrepreneurship offers over 30+ courses to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation and provide access to resources, networks and mentorship. The Centre offered the “Life Design Studio” course for the first time in India, taught by Visiting Faculty Navyug Mohnot.
Offered as a two-credit (20 hours) course open to all disciplines, the “Life Design Studio” course equips students with a holistic skillset, and above all a proactive mindset, to design and build their lives and careers forward.
Course Ratings
Likelihood of recommending the course
Overall rating for how valuable the course was
Rating for the Teacher and methods used
Featured Video
A student short-film celebrating the course experience!
By Yashraj Nanda
Student, Life Design Course ‘23
Case Study
The course emphasized a syllabus integrating the Life Design framework, Design Thinking, problem framing and reframing dysfunctional beliefs, storytelling and networking, and the tools to build intentional change.
See the complete case study to learn more about the courseware and student experiences.
Building a Life Design Movement in Indian Higher Education
Indian School of Business
(Hyderabad & Mohali Campus)
Life Design Lab Course ( Block Week)
The Life Design Lab at Indian School of Business is an immersive block-week credit course designed for PGP students to apply life design tools to real questions about work, purpose, and possibility. Offered twice in Hyderabad and once in Mohali, the course creates an intensive, hands-on learning environment where students explore mindsets, experiment with pathways, and design meaningful next steps for their lives and careers.
IIM Lucknow
(Noida Campus)
“Designing Your Life” Workshop | July 2023
The MBA students of IIM Lucknow applied design thinking for personal and professional development through a half-day workshop on “Designing Your Life” with Navyug Mohnot. With hands-on activities and reflection sessions, they left with valuable insights for intentional future-building.
NID Gandhinagar
Part of Strategic Design Management Course | Spring ‘23 Semester
As part of Professor S. Guruprasad’s Master’s programme in Strategic Design Management at NID Gandhinagar, students engaged with the “Designing Your Life” framework. Through the course, they worked on building a life project, practically applying and implementing key principles of the framework, such as a bias-to-action approach.
Upcoming: IIT Jodhpur
“Life Design Studio” Course | Spring ‘24
IIT Jodhpur launches the 10-week credit course for “Life Design Studio” by Navyug Mohnot starting January 2024.
Upcoming: Stanford Life Design Webinar (for University Educators)
January 17th, 2024 | 9 AM IST
Led by the Stanford Life Design Lab team—Kathy Davies, Managing Director and Dustin Liu, Fellow and Lecturer—alongside Navyug Mohnot and Priyank Narayan, this session for university educators will Life Design tailored for the Indian higher-ed landscape.
Looking to bring DYL to your University?
Looking to bring DYL to your University?
We design + deliver customized DYL programs for universities that range from half-day workshops to full credit courses.