The International Design Thinking Week, with the theme “Digital Transformation in the Financial sector,” was held last week at the HPI School of Design Thinking in cooperation with the d-school from Cape Town and the CUC Design Thinking Innovation Center in Beijing. From 6 to 12 April, 53 students and researchers from seven countries came together at the event.
In ten small, interdisciplinary teams, the participants developed new ideas and ways of providing better assistance and advice in dealing with financial problems or making financial decisions. These are questions regarding the right funding that come up in different life situations, whether this be when planning a wedding, buying a house, or dealing with medical bills. The task was carried out in cooperation with this year’s project partner ING Diba. “Banking products have become commodities. The only way to differentiate is through customer experience”, said Ralph Hamers, CEO ING Group, explaining the challenge of the digital transformation for the financial sector.
In the course of the Design Thinking Week the students ran through the entire Design Thinking process and learned the latest methods and instruments of the innovation approach. The user-focused service mentality stressed the development of new solutions. Many ideas were presented within the context of the final presentations ceremony. These ranged from a series of workshops “by customers for customers”, in which the exchange between the participants was carried out in a supportive, relaxing atmosphere, up through to an app that makes it easier to split group payments.
The International Design Thinking Week forms the prelude to a series of Design Thinking events this year. The highlight is the d.confestival, a unique combination of conferences and festival with numerous workshops and interactive presentations on Design Thinking. The d.confestival is taking place from 14 to 16 September 2017 at the Griebnitzsee campus of the Hasso Plattner Institute, with more than 1000 creative thinkers from about 40 countries expected to attend.
