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”.
This book was created for all those who want to become design thinkers by truly experiencing it. The authors Jeanne Liedtka, Karen Hold, and Jessica Eldridge point out that the innovative potential of design can only be embraced by changing the ways we think and act. That contains the process of becoming a more real and authentic version of ourselves. Therefore it is necessary to dive deep into design experiences to effect positive impacts not only in yourself, but also in your team and organization. With this guide you will be accomplished successfully through different process phases in your personal design thinking journey.
Dr. Assaf Krebs, Co-Director of Design Factory Shenkar
Dr. Krebs holds a B.Des in Visual Communication (Bezalel Academy of Art and Design), and a further BA, MA and a PhD in Classical Studies (Tel Aviv University). He has been working in the field of visual communication for many years and served as a Senior Art Director in Future Brand Israel. Krebs has participated in various art and design exhibitions in Israel and abroad. In recent years he has been part of Material Flow Collective, a group of 12 designers working together on new ecological design thinking methods (Organism 144, the group collaborative design installation will be presented at the Tel Aviv Biennale of Crafts and Design in March 2021). Krebs’ academic research focuses on skins and surfaces as a metaphor and epistemological turn in philosophy, psychoanalytic theory and cultural criticism. He is an MC researcher in COST (CA19129) – Decolonizing Development: Research, Teaching and Practice; a researcher in Fish Skin Lab: Developing Fish Skin as Sustainable Raw Material for the fashion Industry (Horizon 2020); and in Theology in the Age of Anthropocene (The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute).
Dr. Yigal David, Co-Director of Design Factory Shenkar
Yigal David has been acting for more than two decades in several VP and CEO positions in various Israeli telecom corporations. He is specialized in corporate strategy and product development. Yigal, a Shenkar’s Industrial Engineer, holds an MBA and Doctorate degree, both from Middlesex University London. Today, he is a faculty member and a lecturer in the School of Industrial Engineering at Shenkar. His research interests include Entrepreneurial Innovation, Product Development, Emerging Technologies, Voice Sentiment Analysis and Consumer Behaviour.
Daniel Altman, Director of Development and Strategy, Open Innovation
Daniel is a former chairperson of “Shenkar Students’ Union” and the co-founder of “Dots – Student Entrepreneurship Club”. He is a Shenkar alumnus, holding an M.Sc & B.Sc from the “School of Industrial Engineering and Management”, with a specialization in Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Creative leadership. In the past two years, his position was, Shenkar’s ex-president (Former Minister of Education) Prof. Yuli Tamir’s, Advisor for development & strategy. Daniel co-initiated Shenkar’s special projects such as Design Factory Shenkar, SUGAR Network, Global Jamweek, Sustainability R&D Center, and more.
More Spotlight Events
GDTA Spotlight with i3lab Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center
At our GDTA Spotlight session on May 23rd, 2023, we welcomed Guido Caicedo, Executive Director of i3lab, Dr. Sharon Guamán-Quintanilla, Academic Coordinator, and Isabel Alcívar, Lecturer and Design Thinking Facilitator. They discussed about “Turning freshmen into DThinkers.”
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.
At this GDTA session on June 15, 2021, Alejandro Rodriguez, Associate Director for Industrial Design Department at Tecnológico de Monterrey, and his team talked about “Education and Design Thinking: How Tecnológico de Monterrey is applying Design Thinking across all their campus, education and innovation.”
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
December 2025: GDTA Spotlight with Anirban Bhattacharya
In his session, Indigenous Inspirations: 5 Design Lessons from 5 Tribal Women, Anirban uncovers timeless, empowering design principles drawn from the lived experiences of tribal women across India—and what they reveal about building more sustainable, human-centered futures.
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.
“Design Thinking is not Enough” – Design thinking has taught a generation of innovators to empathize, ideate, prototype, and test. It has reshaped classrooms, organizations, and how we talk about change. And yet despite decades of user-centered design, we are still failing to meaningfully shift many of the systems we care most about.
GDTA Session #9 with Observatory “Design Thinking for Business” at Politecnico di Milano
At the GDTA PowWow on April 30th, 2021 Claudio Dell’Era, Associate Professor in Design Strategy and Director of the Observatory “Design Thinking for Business” of the School of Management at Politecnico di Milano talked about “Transformations in Design Thinking: from Creative Ideating to Critical Reframing“.
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!
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.
Session #6 with Jeanne Liedtka, UVA Darden School of Business
In this session, Jeanne Liedtka, United Technologies Corporation Professor of Business Administration, University of Virginia – Darden School of Business, discussed her upcoming book “Experiencing Design: The Innovator’s Journey”.
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.
The GDTA Spotlight session on March 23rd, 2023 was about “Art thinking and design thinking in University College Cork: An innovation ‘marriage’ made in heaven.”
April 2024: GDTA Spotlight with Prof. Dr. Jeanne Liedtka “The Experimentation Field Book: A Step-by-Step Project Guide”
On April 30th, 2024 Prof. Jeanne Liedtka from University of Virginia shared the insight from her most recent book, The Experimentation Field Book: A Step-by-Step Project Guide, co-authored with Natalie Foley, David Kester and Elziabeth Chen, published in February, 2024.
In our January 2026 GDTA Spotlight, Ricardo Ruffo (Founder & CEO of Echos) explores how Artificial Intelligence is reshaping Design Thinking — from crafting outputs to stewarding intelligent systems.
Discover how AI can expand imagination, accelerate experimentation, and help teams reframe problems in entirely new ways.
At our GDTA Spotlight session on July 29th, Hoda Mostafa and Reham Niazi from the The American University in Cairo as well as Richard Perez, Phuthehi Masilo and Lucille Roberts from the Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking at UCT talked about “Building a global virtual d-school: Co-creation and collaboration”.