Why Parsons Executive Education

Parsons Executive Education equips professionals with practical frameworks for addressing intricate challenges. Drawing on our expertise as one of the premier design schools globally, we guide executives, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs in cultivating creative thinking in their leadership roles. By harnessing the transformative power of design, our immersive programs, led by prominent design educators, provide leaders with tools for creative problem solving, innovation, and change management.

Our programs are carefully designed to address the evolving landscape of leadership, management, and innovation in a rapidly changing world. Drawing on research and expertise from Parsons School of Design, The New School, and our global industry partner network, our comprehensive offerings, on subjects ranging from design thinking to strategic design, provide methods for elevating performance, fostering resilience, creating dynamic customer experiences, and achieving optimal growth.

We offer a high-impact learning environment that enables you to:

• Apply design methodologies to problem solving in ways that will maximize your ability to adapt to change
• Master human-centered methods that will help you effect organizational change and create memorable experiences for your audience
• Manage innovation by harnessing new sources of value to create successful products and services while designing risk out of the process 
• Master the art of prototyping and making ideas tangible to maximize stakeholder and customer buy-in
• Create multilevel impact by employing systems thinking and ecosystem business models, an approach well suited to the new era of complexity

Unlock what we refer to as Return on Design, which involves the four pillars described below:

Design as Method and Mindset

Design is a discipline and an approach, not just an output. It is a business tool and a competency that promotes a holistic view amid the ambiguity and chaos of today’s complexity. In Parsons Executive Education programs, we introduce you to techniques and methods that expand your ability to connect multiple perspectives and see the full range of opportunities available to create business, environmental, and social value that generates positive change.

Design as the Catalyst for Strategy

Design is about the whole user experience and is thus an essential part of business strategy. As one of the world’s leading design schools, we are experts in instilling a design mindset that allows you to focus on large-scale challenges in a comprehensive way and gives you the tools you need to identify the issues that matter most. Our programs expand your ability to see “the architecture of the problem” for any situation or challenge.

Design as the Driver of Transformation

Our curriculum goes far beyond the now commoditized notion of design thinking. We provide intentional, disciplined instruction in creative problem-solving techniques and practices. With programs that introduce applied methods for ideation, experimentation, discovery, and reflective action, we help teams consistently produce desired outcomes and effect change.

Design as the Solution to Complexity

The need to transcend the siloed boundaries of “business as usual” contexts has never been greater. We teach you skills that allow you to perceive and seize opportunities while navigating the fundamental tensions that arise from organizational dilemmas. We invite you to embrace the interconnectedness of systems. And we give you the tools you need to unlock change with clarity and simplicity.

Our programs are developed and taught by a diverse community of academics and industry leaders with real-world experience in innovation in a range of industries. These subject-matter experts engage with participants from around the world—taking part in work sessions, facilitating opportunities for hands-on application, and exploring participant research and solutions. Guest speakers bring fresh research and practical perspectives into the classroom,  along with opportunities to interact and network. 

More than a century ago, The New School was founded on the promise of a more relevant model of education—one in which scholars, creators, and activists would be free to address the challenges facing our society to make a positive mark on the world. Our continued commitment to social purpose and world-changing ideas not only reflects the times we live in but enables our community to anticipate what is next.

Get in touch with our team to learn more about Parsons Executive Education.