My team and I conduct research on innovation strategies and capabilities for digital innovation and digital transformation, with a focus on new technologies and university-industry collaboration. My research has been published in leading academic outlets such as the IEEE Technology Engineering Management Journal (IF: 6.146). Moreover, I have been awarded several scholarships, including a doctoral full-time scholarship from the Brazilian Science Without Borders Program, and the Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Research Program in partnership with Stanford University. I am part of the teaching team for the master class called Global Team-based Innovation, which is part of the SUGAR network (https://sugar-network.org/).

2015 – 2019: PhD in Industrial Engineering, National University of Ireland – Galway, Ireland

2013 – 2015: MSc in Computer Science, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil

2008 – 2012: BSc in Information Systems, Universidade de Pernambuco, Brazil

Since January 2022: Senior Researcher, Design Thinking and Innovation Research Chair (DTIR), Hasso Plattner Institute, Germany

 2019 - 2021: Postdoctoral Researcher, Design Thinking and Innovation Research Chair (DTIR), Hasso Plattner Institute, Germany

2018 – 2019: Research Assistant, Enterprise Platform and Integration Concepts Chair (EPIC), Hasso Plattner Institute, Germany

2013 – 2015: Innovation Manager, Blackberry Tech Center Recife, Brazil

Hasso Plattner Institute                       

Since WS 2019/20    Teaching Team: Global Team-based Innovation (master)

SW 2020                    Teaching Team: Human-centred Design for Software Engineers (master)

WS 2020/21              OpenHPI Online Course on Mastering Design Thinking in Organizations

                                     ( > 6000 participants) Link

SW 2020                   Teaching Team: Human-centred Design for Software Engineers (master)

Tübingen University

WS 2021/22             Guest lecturer: User Experience (bachelor) by Prof. Enkelejda Kasneci

                                    Theme: An Introduction to Design Thinking

WS 2020/21             Guest lecturer: User Experience (bachelor) by Prof. Enkelejda Kasneci

                                    Theme: An Introduction to Design Thinking

Selected Publications

de Paula, D.; Marx, C.; Wolf, E.; Dremel, C.; Cormican, K.; Uebernickel, F.(2022).“A managerial mental model to drive innovation in the context of digital transformation” Industry & Innovation Journal

de Paula, D., Cormican, K., & Dobrigkeit, F. (2021). From Acquaintances to Partners in Innovation: An Analysis of 20 Years of Design Thinking's Contribution to New Product Development. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management Journal. DOI:10.1109/TEM.2021.3084884

 de Paula, D., Zarske Bueno, J., Viljoen A. (2021) Defining Archetypes and Requirements for mHealth Interventions in Rural Kenya: An Investigation at CURAFA™ Health Camps. In Proceedings of the 54th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS).

Full Publication List