Professor for Design Thinking & Founding Director School of Design Thinking
Before joining HPI, I was a computer animation and games professor at Film University Babelsberg and a guest professor at the Communication University of China, founding TERRATOOLS in 1990 and creating the Terramap project, the precursor to Google Earth. In 2007, I established the HPI School of Design Thinking, collaborating with students from 60+ disciplines to tackle real-world challenges through empathy, teamwork, and prototyping. I later co-founded the Global Design Thinking Alliance in 2017, now spanning 39 organizations across five continents. To me, design thinking is more than a method—it’s a mindset. In my book Network Thinking – Beyond Brockhaus-Thinking, I advocate collaboration and boldness in solving today’s complex challenges.