Politecnico di Milano is a scientific-technological university which trains engineers, architects and industrial designers. The University has always focused on the quality and innovation of its teaching and research, developing a fruitful relationship with business and the productive world by means of experimental research and technological transfer.

Research has always been linked to didactics and it is a priority commitment which has allowed Politecnico Milano to achieve high quality results at an international level as to join the university to the business world. Research constitutes a parallel path to that formed by cooperation and alliances with the industrial system. Knowing the world in which you are going to work is a vital requirement for training students. By referring back to the needs of the industrial world and public administration, research is facilitated in following new paths and dealing with the need for constant and rapid innovation.

The alliance with the industrial world, in many cases favored by Fondazione Politecnico and by consortiums to which Politecnico belong, allows the university to follow the vocation of the territories in which it operates and to be a stimulus for their development. The challenge which is being met today projects this tradition which is strongly rooted in the territory beyond the borders of the country, in a relationship which is developing first of all at the European level with the objective of contributing to the creation of a single professional training market.

Politecnico takes part in several research, sites and training projects collaborating with the most qualified European universities. Politecnico’s contribution is increasingly being extended to other countries: from North America to Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe. Today the drive to internationalization sees Politecnico Milano taking part into the European and world network of leading technical universities and it offers several courses beside many which are entirely taught in English.

The Observatory Design Thinking for Business was born in 2017 due to the increasing pervasiveness of this approach in different application contexts: from strategic consulting to digital transformation, from digital experience design (UX / UI) to the development of new consumer experiences. The extraordinary amount of acquisitions of design reality in the last 8 years by strategic consulting companies or major players in the digital transformation demonstrates the growing pervasiveness of Design Thinking. The phenomenon highlights the strategic value that the Design Thinking methodologies, approaches and tools assume in different contexts.

In particular, the Observatory aims to be the reference point for the community of innovators who adopt pioneering approaches such as Design Thinking in creating value for their companies, researching new practices and wanting to be in the right networks. The objective is to bring together a group of companies interested in exchanging views on recent developments in Design Thinking, bringing together the potential but also the weak points of this approach to become a strong and updated reference point for all Design Thinkers.

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