Potsdam/Palo Alto. In September the Stanford Center for Professional Development and the German Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) will begin their first joint intensive program for managers from industry and small and medium-sized businesses. Entitled “Leading Digital Transformation and Innovation,” the latest knowledge in information technology, business and Design Thinking will be conveyed at the Palo Alto and Potsdam locations, as well as online. Successful participants in the compact course—consisting of six modules over a three month period—will receive a joint certificate from the two prestigious institutions. Registration is now open at www.hpi.de/digital-transformation.

“In this world-wide unique program, we offer executives a special mix of academic content and practical experience that involves all aspects of digital transformation and innovation,” said HPI Director Prof. Christoph Meinel. The new offer is directed primarily at managers of: innovation, strategy, information technology human resources, project development, and also entrepreneurs from all sectors of the economy. With management and innovation know-how combined with technology knowledge, they will be in a position to successfully launch and maintain digital innovation initiatives. 

The Stanford University in Silicon Valley and the Potsdam Institute, which has been active since 1999, have been closely linked for ten years thanks to the engagement of founder Prof. Hasso Plattner. In the summer of 2005, the HPI benefactor donated 35 million US dollars to Stanford University for the establishment of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at the School of Engineering.  Since then the Potsdam software institute, with its HPI School of Design Thinking (active since the winter semester of 2007/2008), has been working together intensively with its sister institute in Stanford. Together both institutes are involved in the teaching and research of user-friendly innovations. 

The Hasso Plattner Institute for Software Systems Engineering GmbH (https://hpi.de), at the University of Potsdam, is Germany’s university excellence center for IT-Systems Engineering. HPI is the only university institution in Germany offering the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in “IT-Systems Engineering”—a practical and engineering-oriented alternative to conventional computer science studies. Current enrollment is at approximately 480 students. The HPI School of Design Thinking is Europe’s first innovation school for university students. It is based on the Stanford model of the d.school and offers 240 places annually for a supplementary course of study. There are a total of twelve HPI professors and over 50 guest professors, lecturers and contracted teachers at the Institute. HPI carries out research noted for its high standard of excellence in its eleven topic areas. Research work is also conducted at the Potsdam HPI Research School for PhD candidates as well as at its branches in Cape Town, Haifa and Nanjing. HPI teaching and research focuses on the foundation and application of large-scale, highly complex and distributed IT systems. The development and exploration of user-driven innovations for all sectors of life is an additional area of importance. HPI always earns the highest positions in the CHE university ranking. Since the beginning of September 2012, HPI has offered openhpi.de, an interactive Internet educational platform. Its free online courses are open to everyone.