Several hundred innovation experts from all over the world will be meeting in September with Design Thinking pioneers in Potsdam near Berlin to discuss future-oriented models and methods. Innovative solutions for the fields of management, research and education will be a further focus area. The event, called "d.confestival," is taking place from 20-22 September. In its form combining conference and festival, a unique working atmosphere is created synthesizing creativity and productivity.
The new event format will bring together for the first time managers, trainers and researchers who focus on innovation and innovative team work. Prominent participants will be, among others, the founder of SAP and Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI), Prof. Hasso Plattner, as well as Design Thinking pioneer David Kelley. Also present will be creative trailblazers, such as Oliviero Toscani, the mind behind the much-discussed Bennetton campaign. Companies such as Metro, Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Telekom have already confirmed their participation as well. Interactive presentations and workshop formats, a global innovation task as well as an exhibition area provide an international atmosphere and multiple opportunities for networking.
Host of the first worldwide d.confestival is the HPI School of Design Thinking, at Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam. This is the first innovation school in Europe for university students and is based on the model of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University in Palo Alto. Since 2007, the institute in Potsdam has offered additional academic training in Design Thinking, an opportunity unique in all of Germany.
The wishes and needs of the users and customers themselves are the focal point of Design Thinking. A fundamental distinction is therefore made in the process, setting it apart from traditional innovation methods in science and practice. Here, needs are usually defined from the point of view of technical feasibility or economic marketability. Design Thinking goes beyond this by synthesizing the interdisciplinary strengths of many problem solving strategies, thought patterns and communication cultures.
"We are looking forward to this visit by creative lateral thinkers and innovators from all over the world and from completely different fields of activity. They will discuss, dispute and together create something new and exciting."- Prof. Christoph Meinel, Director of the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam.
"The connected working world of the future will become a reality for three days in Potsdam. The d.confestival is the beginning of a new, interactive and collaborative event format combining the seriousness of a scientific conference with the lightheartedness of a festival."- Prof. Ulrich Weinberg, Director of the HPI School of Design Thinking.
Background to the HPI School of Design Thinking
Since 2007, the HPI School of Design Thinking at Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Babelsberg has offered a supplementary study in "Design Thinking," which is unique European wide. Based on the model of its affiliated institute, "HPI d.school," at the elite American Stanford University in Silicon Valleyhttp://dschool.stanford.edu, the supplementary academic education in "Design Thinking" offers graduate students from all disciplines the possibility of developing user-friendly products and services for all areas of life in small multidisciplinary teams. Projects are carried out in close collaboration with companies, public institutions and non-governmental organizations. Per semester up to 120 students are trained - 40 each in two basic courses and in one advanced course. Currently, participants from 22 countries are studying at the HPI School of Design Thinking. The duration of the training program lasts one or two semesters - with two on-site days in Potsdam per week. Successful completion is certified with an Institute certificate. The students are supported throughout their training by experienced professors and lecturers from different departments and disciplines.
Short profile of Hasso Plattner Institute
The Hasso Plattner Institute for IT Systems Engineering (HPI) in Potsdam is Germany's university excellence center for IT Systems Engineering. It is the only university institute in Germany to offer a Bachelor's and a Master's program in "IT Systems Engineering" - a practice- and engineering-oriented alternative to conventional computer science studies. Current enrolment is at about 460 students. Overall, a good dozen professors and more than 50 other lecturers, visiting professors and contract teachers work at HPI. Founded in 1998, the HPI has repeatedly received outstanding scores in higher education rankings. For example, the latest ranking conducted by the Centre for Higher Education (CHE) assessed the HPI as one of the four university institutions offering the best computer science programs in the German-speaking countries. The HPI conducts excellent research, not least for renowned industry and business partners. The primary area of research is the basics of and applications for large, highly-complex, and cross-linked IT systems. Since October 2005, HPI has its own international graduate school, the Research School on "Service-Oriented Systems Engineering". In October 2007, the "HPI School of Design Thinking" was established, Europe's first innovation school for students. Furthermore, HPI cooperates closely with Israel's Technion, Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S., the Technical University of Beijing, the University of Cape Town, and various European universities.
