Case Study: +Acumen (with IDEO.org) achieves 60% course completion and scalable human-centered design learning with NovoEd

+Acumen and IDEO.org partner with NovoEd to Teach Human Centered Design

+Acumen, together with IDEO.org, needed a way to teach human‑centered design at scale and build a sense of community among tens of thousands of online learners. To enable global teams to collaborate on real social‑sector problems, they selected NovoEd’s social learning platform to deliver a team‑based, seven‑week course in human‑centered design.

Using NovoEd’s platform—team workspaces, messaging, discussion boards, and peer‑feedback tools—learners formed >6,000 students into 1,874 teams and completed 6,738 design projects with real‑world application. NovoEd’s solution drove high engagement (some learners investing 10+ hours/week), a 60% course completion rate, and substantial cost savings (about 60% reduction versus in‑person delivery), helping +Acumen scale hands‑on design learning effectively.

+Acumen

Jessica Martin

Senior Innovation Associate