The school is one of the most renowned and allegedly the first European school of innovation teaching project thinking. Out-of-the-box thinking is a standard in this school. D-school is a sister unit to the Hasso Platner Institute of Design at Stanford University. The one in Potsdam was established in 2007 with financial support by Prof. Hasso Plattner. At present, D-School provides education to ca. 320 students. The training cycle is carried out in 2 modules (2 semesters):

• Basic Track - teaching basic rules of using the design thinking method (students implement a week-long projects as well as longer ones - 3 to 6 weeks);
• Advanced Track - advanced method of design thinking used for greater scale projects involving businesses, public institutions and non-profit organisations.

Classes are conducted in English. The programme is free of charge for students from Germany and fee-based for students from outside Germany. Students from different countries and of different professional background have classes together solving real problems for businesses such as SAP, Volkswagen. Siemens, Lufthansa etc. Apart from classes for students D-School offers also Professional Track, a 3-month programme for experts from different fields.

Moreover, D-School runs open courses, carries out international projects and conducts research on development of pro-innovation attitudes and employing design thinking method in different areas. During the visit the participants were presented with how the entity functions, how it is being managed and financed. Possibilities of cooperation in terms of research projects were also discussed.

More information available at:

The official website of the Student Science Innovator’s Club Ordo ex Chao
Official website of the Hasso-PIattner-Institut School of Design Thinking
Official website of the Hasso PIattner Institute of Design at Stanford