Global Ideas Institute  

2011-12 Expert Speaker Series

Dr. Anita M. McGahan | Dr. Yu-Ling Cheng | Ms. Ellie Avishai | Dr. Dilip Soman | Dr. Stanley Zlotkin | Dr. Murray Metcalfe | Dr. Joseph Wong

Solving Tough Problems Through Integrative Thinking
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Munk School of Global Affairs, 1 Devonshire Place
Vivian & David Campbell Conference Facility

Ms Ellie Avishai
Director, I-Think Initiative, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

Integrative thinking can be used to solve complex problems. It involves considering conflicting ideas and perspectives simultaneously in order to explore alternative solutions that may not be obvious at first. Developing integrative thinking skills will allow students to generate novel, innovative ideas that are appropriate for large-scale, global challenges. In this workshop, school groups will anticipate tensions they may come across as they prepare for the symposium. Using integrative thinking, students will work through one identified tension to see what ideas become possible when the either / or frame is lifted away.

Ellie Avishai, MBA, is Founder and Director of I-Think, a unique initiative at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. I-Think adapts Rotman’s pioneering curriculum, which aims to engender self-refl ective thinking and problem-solving in MBA students, to the K – 12 world. Ellie has taught for over a decade in both public schools and education focused NGOs. She was a 2005 recipient of the Bealight Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurs.