Designing for Community Impact with AI

Certificate Program

Program Overview

Embark on a transformative journey to become an agent of social change. This comprehensive certificate program guides you through the design thinking process, specifically applying it to create AI-powered solutions for community impact. Over three immersive modules, you will move from discovering your Massively Transformative Purpose (MTP) to building functional prototypes and developing a sustainable business model. You will leverage Generative AI not just as a tool, but as a creative partner to brainstorm, synthesize research, and prototype solutions that address meaningful community challenges.

Course Schedule

PPCE 9205 Designing for Community Impact with AI

April 13, 2026 – May 17, 2026

This foundational course establishes the groundwork for your project. You will learn to identify meaningful social challenges, connect with communities through empathy, define specific problems, and brainstorm initial AI-driven solutions. The course begins by helping you identify your driving force—your Massively Transformative Purpose (MTP)—and culminates in the ideation of diverse potential solutions using AI as a brainstorming partner. By the end, you will have transformed empathy-based understanding into a clear problem statement and a set of initial concepts.

PPCE 9210 Prototyping for Community Impact with AI

May 25, 2026 – June 28, 2026

Pivot from the theoretical “What If?” to the practical “What Works?” This course is dedicated to bringing your ideas to life through tangible, iterative prototypes, moving from simple sketches to a functional, AI-powered solution. You will select your most promising concept and translate it into a public-facing artifact, such as a product page or video. Through rapid cycles of building and user testing, you will gather feedback to refine your Minimum Viable Product (MVP), ensuring your solution is grounded in real community needs before you launch.

PPCE 9215 Sustaining for Community Impact with AI

July 6, 2026 – August 9, 2026

Prepare for real-world implementation by embedding the engine of longevity into your launch. You will integrate the most critical component of long-term social impact: sustainability. Taking your refined MVP from Course 2, you will develop a sustainable business model using the Business Model Canvas, identifying key partners and revenue streams to ensure operational longevity. You will build an online presence for your solution, design a social media and outreach campaign, and create a comprehensive launch plan to recruit allies and funders to your cause.

What You Walk Away With:

A certificate in Designing for Community Impact with AI. Earn graduate-level professional development units (PDUs). Many jurisdictions count these towards salary advancement.
A portfolio-ready project showcasing your problem-solving skills, from research and ideation (Course 1) to AI-powered prototyping (Course 2) and launch planning (Course 3). This includes your research insights, iterated MVP, Business Model Canvas, launch plan, and final presentation.
Connections with design thinking experts, AI specialists, & fellow change-makers from your cohort, built throughout the program.

Beyond the Course:

Get featured in a showcase of top projects shared with the wider Pacific design network and potential partners.
Join an alumni community offering continued mentorship opportunities, networking events, and resources for social innovators.

Virtual Showcase Day

Event: Participate in the live Virtual Showcase Day! Present your final MVP project, journey, and future vision developed across all three courses to fellow participants, instructors, mentors, and potentially invited community partners and design thinking experts. Engage in Q&A and network with attendees.