One of the pet peeves of the former SAP chief executive officer (Hasso Plattner) is that software engineers often pack products with far too many functions that no one needs, often because they’re too focused on engineering. His aim with the new program is to help students take a more creative, interdisciplinary and user-oriented approach to new product design.

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Hasso Plattner Institut
Related: SAP founder gives $35 million for Stanford D-School

Ralf Beuker suggests the motto, “help design manager help themselves” in relation to design thinking. Apparently this is a modification of Maria Montessori’s approach to childhood education of “help me in order to help myself.”

When working at Crayola and attempting to come up with a definition of “Play,” we finally decided that play is what children do. It is how they learn about the world around them. As children we have much more tolerance of risk, comfortably use trial and error and have an endless supply of enthusiasm. These are several traits that make for great design thinkers.

How do we re-awaken the child in us as profesionals, and within those students that will become the next generation of innovative thinkers attempting to solve ‘wicked problems?’ Montessori’s educational approach appears to be even more relevant in our changing world. “Education should no longer be mostly imparting of knowledge, but must take a new path, seeking the release of human potentialities.”