Hasso-Plattner-InstitutSDG am HPI
Hasso-Plattner-InstitutDSG am HPI
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30.01.2017

News

US Entry Ban: "A Blow to International Research Programs"

The scientific director of HPI, Professor Christoph Meinel, has criticized the entry ban imposed by the American president. This controversial measure affects researchers at HPI. A Ph.D. student who has worked in Germany for many years is now prohibited from entering the US and taking part in the annual HPI-Stanford Design Thinking Research Program.

As director of HPI, Prof. Christoph Meinel criticizes the American president’s entry ban on citizens from seven Muslim countries into the US.

"At the HPI, we are proud of our many years of collaboration with Stanford University," says the director of the HPI, Prof. Dr. Christoph Meinel. The relationships are close, with many research colleagues in regular exchange. This makes it especially painful that valued members of the research team are being denied entry into the United States. "The entry ban for citizens from seven Muslim countries traveling to the USA deals a major blow to international research programs and cooperations," says Meinel. "Knowledge can flourish only through openness."

HPI Ph.D. student with valid visa cannot travel

A Ph.D. student at the HPI is directly affected by this executive order. For years, she has nurtured close contacts in the US, and she had planned a month-long research trip for February 2017. Despite a valid visa, she is not able to accept Stanford's invitation.

Years of cooperation between Stanford and HPI

In the last ten years, the Hasso Plattner Institute and Stanford University have intensified their cooperation. Two successful examples are the HPI-Stanford Design Thinking Research Program (HPDTRP), where researchers study why design thinking innovation succeeds or fails; and the program "Leading Digital Transformation," run as a cooperation between the HPI Academy and the Stanford Center for Professional Development. Both programs conduct regular workshops in Stanford and Potsdam – with, naturally, many international participants.