# A clearer path from research to business.

> Research can hold commercial promise. Exploring that promise takes another set of questions: who needs it, what problem does it solve, and how could it reach them? USM’s April bootcamp gave researchers a practical place to begin.

Canonical: https://alphadynamo.com/case-studies/usm-design-thinking-bootcamp

Client: Universiti Sains Malaysia
Programme: Design Thinking Bootcamp
Delivery: 21–23 April 2026
Published: 2026-10-17
Publisher: Alpha Dynamo

## Give research a route into entrepreneurial thinking.

USM’s brief focused on entrepreneurship, IP commercialisation and the ability to communicate the potential of research. Participants needed a shared starting point for thinking about customers and markets, including those with little business background.

Alpha Dynamo delivered the three-day Design Thinking Bootcamp on 21–23 April 2026 at SAINS@USM in Bukit Jambul. The structure connected four modules with practical group work and pitching.

## Move from what an idea can do to who it can help.

Empathy and problem definition put the customer into the conversation. Rather than treating the first proposed solution as a settled answer, the exercises asked participants to examine the problem and distinguish it from its symptoms.

Prototyping created a way to explore an idea before committing further effort. Business-model work then connected that solution to questions of value, pricing and how an offer might work in practice.

The group format made room for questions, examples and discussion. Participants could bring their own perspective to the frameworks and practise communicating the case for an idea.

## A strong response from people starting somewhere new.

All 14 respondents to the overall survey said they would recommend the workshop. Mean satisfaction was 9.2 out of 10; 12 rated the instructor Excellent, and all 14 rated the pacing Just Right.

Prototyping received the highest module satisfaction score: 4.92 out of 5 from 13 responses. Across the feedback, participants highlighted accessible explanations, practical examples and the opportunity to discuss business concepts in relation to their work.

The four module surveys contain 54 responses in total. Those are submissions across separate modules, not 54 individual participants. Each module’s result is reported with its own denominator.

## The conversation had somewhere to go.

Participants asked for more hands-on time, more pitching practice and examples from a broader range of sectors. Feedback also pointed to earlier access to materials and improvements to the room and schedule.

The feedback report recommended a follow-up session. Five months later, USM commissioned a separate one-day Venture Development Workshop with a different brief: structuring the venture case around an idea or research.

The return gave the relationship a new direction: a separate engagement, a more focused task and another opportunity to put ideas into practice. The September workshop has its own brief and record of participant feedback.

## Participant feedback

Mean satisfaction: 9.2/10. Overall survey: 14 respondents. 14/14 would recommend; 12/14 rated the instructor Excellent.

## Module feedback

- Understanding the Power of Empathy: 4.40/5 (15 responses)
- Identifying Problems Worth Solving: 4.82/5 (11 responses)
- Prototyping Effective Solutions: 4.92/5 (13 responses)
- Building Business Models: 4.87/5 (15 responses)

## Evidence notes

- USM Design Thinking workshop proposal: Client objectives, planned format and commercialisation context.
- USM Workshop Feedback — April 2026, version 7: Delivered dates and venue, workshop format, feedback themes and recommended next steps.
- USM April 2026 overall and module feedback: Scores recalculated from the supplied CSVs. Separate overall and module response counts; published quotation has recorded consent.

## Plan a programme

Programmes can be shaped for students, researchers and company teams. https://alphadynamo.com/#contact