United through design: Intercultural teams converge to tackle global challenges

One can argue that the problems we face globally have no ‘solution’ per se. They’re too complex, too messy, too wicked. But even if there is no one solution, intercultural teamwork can help clarify pieces of the puzzle. And, certainly, we cannot appreciate the complexity of the issues at hand until we are talking about them as a global community. Laying the foundation for these global dialogues must begin in education. Through our research in intercultural design collaboration, we have encouraged culturally and cognitively diverse teammates to unite through projects in areas such as food scarcity, cultural preservation, water sustainability, discrimination, social justice, and other public interest issues. Even when teammates feel equally passionate about a global issue, they might approach the problem in different ways, considering very different types of solutions or approaches to the issue at hand. These differences in ideas, opinions, working styles, and even the perception of the problem itself can lead to challenging communications and struggles. But research suggests that this very struggle of contrasting ideas—creative abrasion—is actually an important ingredient in developing innovative work. In order for creative abrasion to be successful, however, teammates must foster cultural awareness, communication, and collaboration skills. With this in mind, both faculty and students take on the shared responsibility of tackling wild challenges together.