Hello, glad to see you here!
Every time I walk through a door, I try to light up the room and bring happiness and motivation, in the hopes of infecting others. I bring with me a backpack full of innovation techniques as well as experience on various projects within a highly specialised innovation environment.
Want to know more? Go check out my digital resume & explore what value I can bring to your organization and/or team!
Nikki Van Oostende
Innovation Designer
Experience
My work experience from the very beginning till nowadays.
- Assisting in the development of a futureproof roadmap for 2025 with clear strategic actions. Developing different possible future scenarios and using Foresight to start strategic conversations in order to determine the role and activities of the organization in the (near) future. This was a two-year program. - Taking the lead in teaching and facilitating a customers' team in how to develop a new service (for chronic patients) (series of 15 workshops during 4 months) - Assisting in the organisation of a two-day Hackathon focussing on solutions concerning climate change adaptation, energy transition or circularity. My role was to develop the program, prepare the practical side and to maintain a helicopter view during the event in order to have it coordinated smoothly. - Assisting a variety of innovation sessions for multiple clients. My role was to facilitate inspiration sessions and co-facilitate innovation workshops.
- Developing a strategy and action plan to help and save bees and other pollinators as part of a broader sustainability strategy of Lidl Belux.
- Develop a comprehensive customer journey map (incl. pains, needs, wishes ...) of The Hague Courthouse for the interior reconstruction of the courthouse. - Design and facilitate a three-day long training for ING's international innovation managers Skills used and trained during the internship - Product/service development - Customer journey mapping - Design research - Contextmapping - Assisting service design trainings - Ideation & brainstorm facilitation - Concepting - (UX) prototype
- Using Foresight and Design Thinking to create solutions that add value to today's and tomorrow's customers - Help businesses find their purpose and translate it into actionable steps and strategies
- Translating and conceptualising learning methodologies into a commercially usable platform - Clarifying learning efficiency on an individual and organisational level
- Determine the extent to which innovation is embedded in the company through an Innovation Audit - Organising & facilitating brainstorm sessions - Increase, monitor and elaborate on creative input of employees
My skill set
The skills and capabilities I am comfortable enough to show off
Manage innovation
The common thread throughout my educational and professional carreer is innovation; Why innovate, how to translate strategy into innovation objectives, the different kinds of innovation, the process, culture, tools, capabilities and resources needed for innovation.
Product/service development
Based on a mix of different methodologies, like Design Thinking and the Lean Start-up, I'll guide you through the steps in order to develop your product, service or start-up. The focus of the methodologies is to bring uncertainty down to a minimum before investing large amounts, while keeping the customer at the center of your product, service or organisation.
Foresight
The future will most likely not be an extension of the present (e.g. Covid). Scenario planning or Foresight brings an outside-in view on how the future of your sector/organization might look like by developing different, realistic scenarios and using those scenario's to challenge and transform strategies, missions/visions, and roles of organizations in order to be better prepared for the future.
Facilitation
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to far, go together. Facilitation is an enabler to go far and it is one of the main skills for an innovator. Engaging stakeholders, asking the right questions, challenging the status quo, moderating discussions and keeping the focus on the end goal are needed to make innovation succeed!
Education
As a continuous learner, I look for opportunities to learn in any situation. Below, you can find my official learning opportunities.
The online training specifically focused on three core skills of facilitating a team in an online environment. 1) Guiding is about providing a clear and inviting structure with a clear track of progress. 2) Conducting is about orchestrating dialogue and conflicting opinions into thoughtful conclusions. 3) Catalyzing is about keeping all participants together under one shared goal.
SBS-EM is the business school of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). The Advanced Master was organized around 5 main areas: General Management, Entrepreneurship, Reasoning and Analytical Skills, Innovation & Technology and Personal Development. During the Advanced Master, I developed the abilities to analyse complex challenges, make informed strategic choices and solve complex business issues. The dominant focus was on fast-changing environments in which innovation was a key determinator to overcome obstacles. On top of the more analytical skills, SBS-EM provided me with tools, soft-skills and a mindset to turn existing businesses into innovation engines and take on any innovation project. - Develop and improve businesses and products/services in fast changing markets - Make strategical analysis and strategical choices - Set-up, lead and boost innovation capabilities
Idea & Innovation management is based upon four pillars: Creativity, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and - very importantly - People Skills. The focus of the courses varied from trend analysis, social and technological innovations, idea generation to business cases and business model innovation - Brainstorm facilitation / business creativity / storytelling / coaching - Trend research and implementation / futures research and strategic foresight - Design thinking / business development / managing innovation Projects: - Bachelor's thesis: Change management through E-learning - Project management: Launching new collection of Ikea & Walter Van Beirendonck - Trendwatching: Sharing Economy - Trend implementation: The future of grocery stores - Innovations today: Circular Economy
C2 certificate EFSET English Language
About me
Wondering who I am and what my passions and inspirations are? Read on and you will find out!
My personality: ENFJ
My profile: Assertive Protagonist
Full of passion and a love to inspire and encourage others, I am a true team player. I am reliable and can always be counted on to see it through until the end. I can easily sense the mood which allows me to shift my tone and manner to reflect the needs of the audience, while still maintaining my own voice. I am tolerant, opend-minded, a quick learner and always eager to help. More interested in my personality, how I communicate and how I act in the workplace? Click on the icon below to view my full MBTI profile
Full time Plantdad
Taking care and experimenting with my plants - Ghent
I love taking care of plants. They make me happy and it is my way of relaxing. Over the years I acquired a lot of plants, in all different shapes and sizes and I love seeing my plants develop and transform over time. Taking care of plants can be challenging, since they all have different needs and this means I'm experimenting and trying out new ways to keep them happy everyday. Inevitably, I killed many of them, but each plant I failed to give the proper care taught me a valuable lesson. When those lessons add up, it results in a home with 50+ plants and keeping them happy and healthy!
Nature and ecology
Butterfly garden - Luxembourg
It goes hand in hand with my previous passion. I find the natural world truly mesmerizing. Ranging from insect-eating plants all the way to complex fungal communication networks in a symbiotic relationship with trees. I look at the natural world as a source of inspiration; over thousands of years plants and animals developed strategies and tactics to interact, defend and adapt to changing environments. So why not use all those years of trial and error as a source of inspiration for (innovation)strategies.
Sports & activities
A day of snowboarding - Norway
A healthy body is a healthy mind. It is a motto I strive to uphold. Aside from working behind my laptop and taking care of my plants (both of which don't require a lot of active movements), I love going outdoors. Preferably hiking and getting lost in ancient, moss-filled forests, but strolls through city parks are the next best thing (especially in these Covid times). In addition to hiking, padel has caught my attention since last summer. Far from being a professional, I do believe the weekly get-togethers increased my skills enough to play a decent match. Last but not least is my everlasting love for snow and the board used to float on it. Unfortunately, Covid has been a real deal killer concerning (winter) holidays... I am waiting impatiently to see the snowy mountains, smell the cold fresh air, and hear the crackling sound of snow pressed together.
Let's connect & have a chat
Do you see the value I can bring to your organization and/or team? Leave me a message and let's have a chat
+32 47 606 26 35
nikki.van.oostende @hotmail.com
Let's connect
