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Home | Find a course | Click Start by the University of Leeds - Get Creative with People to Solve Problems
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Click Start by the University of Leeds - Get Creative with People to Solve Problems

Increase your problem-solving skills and develop your design thinking mindset using the principles of human-centred design. This course is open to all ages and is free for 3 weeks. You can also buy the course for £39 and you’ll receive a certificate if eligible.

"The course is required for becoming successful in business, so it has spiced up my international business management skills and put me in a better position to handle the customers in the best manner." -Yamin
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This course is brought to you by:

Future Learn logo
Free to eligible students
Short Course
Provider:
University of Leeds
Course length:
6-8 hours per course
Delivery method:
Online
Price:
Free to eligible students
Subjects: Career/Professional Skills, Creative Computing, Digital Skills
Age range: Open to all ages

Solve Problems with Human-Centred Design

This flexible two-week course explores design thinking, a problem-solving approach used by companies, startups, and governments worldwide.

Understand Human-Centred Design
Learn how focusing on real user needs leads to better solutions, and develop skills in empathy, brainstorming, and prototyping.

Apply Practical Techniques
Take part in hands-on activities to collect data, test ideas, and refine solutions for real-world challenges.

Learn from Industry Experts
Gain insights from professionals and build a design thinking mindset to create effective, user-focused products.

Click Start was developed by the Institute of Coding (IoC) – a national collaboration of universities, charities, and employers – and initially funded by Nominet, the public benefit company and guardian of the .UK web domain, which works with charities and organisations that seek to improve lives through technology. This funding supported this course between 2023 and 31st September 2025.

The programme was originally created with the aim to help tackle the UK’s digital skills gap and social mobility by offering accessible skills and training opportunities. Between 2023 and 2026, Click Start provided training to over 180,000 learners globally, including over 35,000 young people aged 18–35 in the UK who may not have previously had access to such opportunities.

If you sign up to a Click Start programme, you’ll also get access to GetMyFirstDigitalJob, an online platform designed to help you find and land a digital job. It’s your new hub for jobs, support, and guidance for your digital career.

You’ll get access to job opportunities from employers looking for fresh talent, and a dedicated careers coach who’ll give you one-on-one support to guide you through your job search journey. There’s also learning modules to boost your employability skills in the areas you need them most, and exclusive live events where you can get your questions answered by experts from across the digital industry.

There’s never been a better reason to join a Click Start programme!

GetMyFirstDigitalJob was built by BCS and The Talent People to support the Click Start programme.

The Click Start by University of Leeds programme covers digital skills, as well as personal and professional development, designed to help you apply for a new job or access new opportunities with better pay.

This course takes 6-8 hours to complete, and you can learn at your own pace, on your own schedule, from the comfort of your home. All learning is self-guided, so you might do the course in less time!

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What will I learn?

  • Gain a practical insight into human-centred design (an iterative design process in which designers focus on the users and their needs in each phase of the design process)
  • Explore the use of design thinking methods
  • Hear from others about how they use human-centred design
  • Experiment with design thinking through a series of simple activities

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to…

  • Identify the kinds of problem that can be solved with human-centred design
  • Summarise the activities needed to run a successful human-centred design project
  • Develop a human-centred design mindset to approach a problem
  • Apply the Design Thinking process to a real-world problem
  • Investigate how making and testing rough prototypes helps improvement
  • Collect information and data that help prove a solution will work in the real world
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FAQS

Anyone can do this programme. However, Click Start is designed to support under-represented groups. The aim is to give you the digital skills you need to find new opportunities. Or get better pay. Or simply do what you want to do in life.

To start this course now simply click here to join

All you need is an open mind. You don’t need experience. You don’t need to have been to university. All you need is curiosity and be ready to learn new things. Maybe you want a new direction? Maybe you want to upskill? Maybe you want a raise or promotion in your current role? Click Start gives you the head start you need.

This course is free for 3 weeks. You can also buy the course for £39 and you’ll receive a certificate if eligible.

This course is run by the University of Leeds, and the courses are hosted on the Future Learn platform. The Click Start programme was developed by the Institute of Coding and is funded by Nominet.

Free to eligible students
Short Course
Provider:
University of Leeds
Course length:
6-8 hours per course
Delivery method:
Online
Price:
Free to eligible students
Subjects: Career/Professional Skills, Creative Computing, Digital Skills
Age range: Open to all ages
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