Last week, I had the privilege of running a guest session for the brilliant learners on Agent Academy’s Rise programme a course focused on accelerating the shift to clean energy in the North West through digital innovation.

My talk centred on user-centred design (UCD) as a tool for tackling complex, systemic challenges but more importantly, it was about getting hands-on. We explored how empathy, creative thinking, and structured ideation can help teams make sense of difficult problems and begin shaping meaningful solutions.

In the second half of the session, we shifted focus to workshop facilitation a huge passion of mine. I introduced a few simple but powerful tools that designers (or anyone, really) can use to help guide teams through a clear, collaborative decision-making framework. When done well, I truly believe workshops can be a designer’s superpower a way to unlock alignment, cut through ambiguity, and move from chaos to clarity.

After the ideation exercises, the learners worked in teams to generate campaign ideas aimed at driving clean energy adoption. Once the ideas were flowing, we regrouped to vote on the ones we felt had the most potential for real-world impact. From there, we prioritised them using an impact/effort grid a practical tool that helps teams:

• Identify high-impact, low-effort ideas that can be developed quickly
• Recognise high-impact, high-effort ideas that are better suited as larger projects
• Set aside lower-impact ideas for future exploration

This exercise helped highlight the power of prioritisation not just as a way to evaluate ideas, but as a tool for shaping your next sprint or backlog. It gave the learners a sense of how design thinking can lead directly into practical, actionable planning.

What stood out most wasn’t just the enthusiasm in the room, but the openness to thinking differently. The learners brought energy, fresh ideas, and a clear drive to make an impact.

Reading the feedback from the learners afterwards was a real highlight for me:

“Sean’s interactive workshop kept us on our toes and brimming with creative sparks, already looking forward to our next brainstorming session together!”

“I expected a standard ‘talk and listen’ setup, but what we got was engaging, interactive, and genuinely fun… it really sparked a deeper interest in the field for me.”

This experience has genuinely inspired me to do more of this kind of work in the future. It reminded me that sharing ideas, guiding others, and creating space for creativity is something I truly enjoy and value.

Big thanks to Agent Academy for the opportunity, I came away from the session feeling inspired by the next generation of change-makers.

If you’re looking for someone to run a session on UCD, workshop facilitation, I’d love to chat.