GDTA Spotlight Special: Value-based engineering with Design Thinking
The Global Design Thinking Alliance, in collaboration with the IEEE Standards Association and Vienna University of Economics and Business, invited you to the GDTA Spotlight Special Edition “Value-Based Engineering in Design Thinking,” which took place on March 10th, 2022, from 9:00-11:30 am (EST) / 3:00-5:30 pm (CET) via Zoom.
GDTA Spotlight Special
Value-Based Engineering with Design Thinking:
IEEE 7000 Standard
March 10th, 2022, 9-11:30 am (EST) / 3:00-5:30 pm (CET), online
As the use and impact of digital technologies and artificial intelligence systems become pervasive, we need to establish societal and policy guidelines for such systems to remain human-centric, serving humanity’s values and ethical principles. These systems must be developed and should operate in a beneficial manner to people and the environment, beyond simply reaching functional goals and addressing technical problems.
The value-based engineering approach of the new “IEEE 7000” global standard provides organizations with a path to better system design, anticipating impacts and addressing them right from the beginning of the development process of new digital technologies. It gives an organization’s IT departments clear guidance on how to build ‘valuable’ technology in awareness of ethical issues.
On March 10th, 2022, we introduced the IEEE 7000 standard on ethical concerns during system design and discussed how organizations will implement it and bring a value-based design to life.
Sarah Spiekermann, Head of the Institute for Information Systems and Society at Vienna University of Economics and BusinessLohan Spies, Founder & CEO, DIDxKenza Ait Si Abbou, Director Client Engineering DACH, IBMSebastian Wieczorek, Vice President – Artificial Intelligence Technology, SAPChristoph Meinel, Institute Director and CEO, Hasso Plattner Institute
Agenda (EST)
9:00 am Welcome remarks by HPI, GDTA, and IEEE
9:15 am “IEEE’s Ethical Initiatives and Its Plans for IEEE 7000” by Konstantinos Karachalios
9:30 am “Value-based Engineering” by Sarah Spiekermann
10:15 am Q&A with audience and Ali Hessami, Sarah Spiekermann, and Konstantinos Karachalios
10:30 am Break
10:40 am Interview with Lohan Spies and Panel Discussion with IBM and SAP
11:25 am Final remarks and goodbye
More Spotlight Events
GDTA Session #10 with The Learning Factory at Penn State University
At our online session on May 18, 2021 Matt Parkinson, Professor and Director of The Learning Factory, College of Engineering at Penn State University, and Jessica Menold, Assistant Professor of Engineering Design at Penn State University, talked about the Design Thinking process that contributed to the development of a new university building, dedicated to Design Thinking and prototyping.
Session #5 with Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art
In this session, Dr. Assaf Krebs, Dr. Yigal David, and Daniel Altman of GDTA member institution Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art talked about: “Intermediate spaces – Two perspectives on engineering, design, Design Thinking, and life itself. From Sound Engineering to Human Surfaces”.
May 2024: GDTA Spotlight Special with Maria Stashenko “Playing the Future: A Trend Watching Game”
On Tuesday, May 21st we held a free interactive 60-minute session with Maria Stashenko & her team form Design Thinking Center Asia. After a brief introduction everyone played a round of their game live online:
March 2025: GDTA Spotlight with HPI d-school Potsdam
The D-School Potsdam is stepping into a new chapter! With a fresh brand identity and an updated teaching structure, they continue to push the boundaries of Design Thinking education. At the GDTA Spotlight: “Crafting Tomorrow”, Monika Frech, co-head of the academic program team shared
Michael Lewrick, bestselling author of The Design Thinking Playbook and AI and Innovation, leads an inspiring session exploring how Artificial Intelligence is transforming Design Thinking practices worldwide.
GDTA Spotlight with Hasso Plattner Institute Potsdam
In our last session on June 28th, 2022, at 3:00 pm (CEST) / 09:00 am (EDT), we welcomed our speakers Prof. Dr. Falk Uebernickel, Professor for Design Thinking and Innovation Research at Hasso Plattner Institute, and Dr. Danielly de Paula, Senior Researcher at Hasso Plattner Institute.
Join us for a free session of the GDTA Spotlight on Tuesday, June 18th at 9.00 am SAST / 7.00am GMT for “Connecting the African Design Thinking Community: An Emergent Learning Network” with Jenni van Niekerk!
On June 27th, 2023 we welcomed Vindhya Umapathy, Design Thinking Lead at CMR University (Bangalore, India). She spoke on the topic of “Fostering Design Thinking Mindsets amongst University Students“.
GDTA Spotlight with Prezi Co-Founder Adam Somlai-Fischer
Adam Somlai-Fischer, Co-Founder of Prezi, shared how a personal challenge sparked a global storytelling revolution. Discover the magic of spatial visual storytelling, AI’s role in transforming presentations, and the impact of LLMs on visual thinking.
At the GDTA Spotlight session on April 26th, 2023, we welcomed Dr. Linda J. Hickman, Associate of the London School of Economics. She talked about “Design Thinking for Startups.”
GDTA Spotlight – “Design Thinking at Universidad Mayor: The Journey of the first Latin American D-School” with D-School Chile
At our GDTA Spotlight session on January 18th, we were welcoming our speakers Isabella Stranger, Gastón Roca and Yael Gitman from D-School Chile. They talked about how the first Latin American D-School came to life at the very core of a Chilean University, what they have built in 3 years of history, and what challenges they are hoping to tackle next.
GDTA Spotlight – “Teach to Start Up!” with Prof. Dr. André Bresges, Executive Director of the Institute for Physics Didactics at the University of Cologne
At our GDTA Spotlight session on December 14th, Prof. Dr. André Bresges, Executive Director of the Institute for Physics Didactics at the University of Cologne talked about “Teach to Start Up”.
Session #1 “Echos between Australia and Brazil – Creating virtual Design Thinking learning experiences”
In a discussion with GDTA President Uli Weinberg, Ricardo Ruffo and Reinaldo Campos from Echos Innovation Lab in Brazil shared how they are creating online Design Thinking learning experiences between Australia and Brazil.
Session #4 with Arne van Oosterom, Design Thinkers Academy
After 16 years of running projects using Design Thinking, teaching it, living it, Arne came to some important conclusions. During this session he shared these moments of clarity and darkness and left participants optimistic, energised and proud to be part of the Design Thinking movement.
March 2026: GDTA Spotlight “The Agency Continuum” with Samuel Tschepe
“Beyond the Prompt – Orchestrating Human-AI Agency”
Who’s really in control when working with AI—you or the tool?
In this upcoming session, we’ll explore how intentionally sharing decision-making between humans and AI leads to better outcomes than simply using more AI. Together, we’ll unpack five modes of human–AI agency and discuss how to stay in the driver’s seat of your own work.
We’re excited to welcome Samuel Tschepe, who brings 15+ years of experience designing impactful learning experiences, with a strong foundation in Design Thinking. His work focuses on helping individuals and teams confidently balance human intuition and AI—not by choosing one over the other, but by blending both with intention.