GDTA Spotlight Special – Value-Based Engineering with Design Thinking

In our session held via zoom on March 10th. 2022, from 9:00 – 11:30 am (EST) / 3:00 – 5:30 pm (CET) via Zoom, we collaborated with the IEEE Standards Association and Vienna University of Economics and Businesss to talk about “Value-Based Engineering in Design Thinking”.  For more information about the event, agenda and speakers please visit the GDTA Spotlight Special website. […]

In our session held via zoom on March 10th. 2022, from 9:00 – 11:30 am (EST) / 3:00 – 5:30 pm (CET) via Zoom, we collaborated with the IEEE Standards Association and Vienna University of Economics and Businesss to talk about “Value-Based Engineering in Design Thinking”. 

For more information about the event, agenda and speakers please visit the GDTA Spotlight Special website.

At the GDTA Spotlight Special on March 10th, 2022, we introduced the IEEE 7000 standard on ethical concerns during system design. Together with DIDx, IBM, and SAP representatives, we discussed how organizations will implement it and bring a value-based design to life.

More Spotlight Events

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”.

GDTA Spotlight: “Celebrate Design Thinking Coming of Age”

Design Thinking has been reshaping the minds of many students and professionals globally for the past 20 years and is fast becoming the winning mindset that drives innovation and solutions to complex problems of our time. The mindset has seen major support from academia and professional networks with some great expansion over the years.

May 2025: GDTA Spotlight with Arne van Oosterom

Join Arne van Oosterom for a powerful GDTA Spotlight session on 3 essential mindset shifts for the future: curiosity, adaptation, and relationships.

GDTA Spotlight with CMR University

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“.

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.

Can Güvenir: “Design Thinking for Social Impact: A Case Study on Collaborative Public Service Design”

The last online session took place on November 21st, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. (CET). We welcomed our speaker, Can Güvenir, Design Manager and lecturer at Yaşar University.

Session #2 with Linlin Shui, Communication University of China

In a discussion with GDTA president Prof. Uli Weinberg and other GDTA members, Linlin Shui, Head of the Design Thinking Innovation Center at the Communication University of China (CUC), shared impressions from China during the Covid-19 pandemic and explained how CUC build a prototype for an online Design Thinking course in only two weeks.

April 2025: GDTA Spotlight with Michael Lewrick

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.

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

June 2024: GDTA Spotlight with Jenni van Niekerk

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!

GDTA Spotlight with Dark Horse Innovation

How passion, collaboration, and persistence turned an idea into a thriving business. Born from one of the first cohorts of the D-School Potsdam, Dark Horse defied the odds to become a sustainable business venture.

GDTA Spotlight – “Designing your life” with Joann Halpern, Director, Hasso Plattner Institute, New York

At our GDTA Spotlight session on October 21th, Joann Halpern guided us through a “Designing Your Life” workshop, which has been adapted from Bill Burnett and Dave Evans’ book on this subject.

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.

GDTA Spotlight with Penn State University

On September 12th, 2023 we welcomed our speakers Jessica Menold, Associate Professor in the School of Engineering Design and Innovation and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and also Dr. Matt Parkinson, Professor of Engineering Design and Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University.

GDTA Session #8 with The Design Thinking School at the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu

Remember the experiments and challenges you faced while starting a new project? Before 2019, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu didn’t dream a small idea would turn into so many new research projects, competitions to encourage students to innovate and the first D-School in Romania.

GDTA Session #7 with Western University: Design Thinking Education without a D.School

Western University is a large, public university in Canada with 11 faculties and schools. Since 2013, they have slowly built up the presence of Design Thinking across the university.