Schools2030 Human-Centred Design Toolkit honoured with two awards

Katie Krummeck, AKF’s newly-appointed Global Advisor for Design and Innovation and co-creator of the HCD Toolkit, shares the exciting news that the Toolkit has now been honoured at two separate Design Awards

19 October 2021
By Sarah James

This summer AKF’s work around the Schools2030 Human-Centred Design Toolkit was honoured with two awards from the international design and innovation community. 

Our team (Katie Krummeck, Gray Garmon, Munir Ahmad, Andy Cunningham and especially, all of the Schools2030 country teams) was delighted to be recognised alongside many amazing organisations like the Stanford d.school, MIT Media Lab, Google, Microsoft, Nike and Samsung. 

We are especially proud given that we are a small but mighty team. As I join the team as a full-time team member, I am excited to see what’s next for Accelerate Impact and leveraging HCD across projects at AKF. I am also thrilled to begin to see the solutions being generated from the design work lead by country teams and guided through the Schools2030 toolkit!

For more specific information (and links!) to both awards, see below.

Fast Company Innovation By Design Awards

We received recognition as Honourable Mention in the Learning category for the 2021 Fast Company Innovation By Design awards.

Fast Company is the world’s leading business media brand, with an editorial focus on innovation in technology, leadership, world changing ideas, creativity, and design. Written for and about the most progressive business leaders, Fast Company inspires readers to think expansively, lead with purpose, embrace change, and shape the future of business. 

Launched in November 1995 by Alan Webber and Bill Taylor, two former Harvard Business Review editors, Fast Company magazine was founded on a single premise: A global revolution was changing business, and business was changing the world. Discarding the old rules of business, Fast Company set out to chronicle how changing companies create and compete, to highlight new business practices, and to showcase the teams and individuals who are inventing the future and reinventing business.

The 2021 Innovation by Design Awards honour the designers and businesses solving the problems of today and tomorrow. The competition, now in its 10th year, has featured a cross section of blue-chip companies, scruffy startups, and hungry young talents. It is one of the most sought-after design awards in the industry. There are 37 categories, and the judges include renowned designers, business leaders from some of the most innovative companies in the world, and Fast Company’s own writers and editors. Entries are judged on the key ingredients of innovation: functionality, originality, beauty, sustainability, user insight, cultural impact, and business impact. 

This year’s Innovation by Design Awards have 599 honourees in 37 categories, representing thousands of people, nonprofits, and companies actively working to make the world a safer, fairer, more beautiful place.

Core77 Design Awards

We received recognition as a Runner Up in the Design Education Initiative competition for the 2021 Core77 Design Awards.

Core77 has served a devoted global audience of industrial designers ranging from students through seasoned professionals. Core77 provides a gathering point for designers and enthusiasts alike by producing design competitions, lecture series, parties, and exhibits.

Recognising excellence in all areas of design enterprise, the Core77 Design Awards annually celebrates the richness of the design profession as well as the insight and perseverance of its practitioners. Now in its eleventh year, the Awards program remains dedicated to excellence and inclusivity, offering both students and professionals the opportunity to promote their best work on a global scale across 18 distinct design disciplines.


Download the free HCD Toolkit here to start innovating in your school!

Schools2030 is a ten-year participatory learning improvement programme based in 1,000 government schools across ten countries. Schools2030 supports teachers and students to design and implement education micro-innovations. These low-cost and scaleable innovations will inform and transform education systems to improve holistic learning outcomes for the most marginalised learners worldwide. Join the movement on TwitterFacebook, and LinkedIn.