Design Thinking Week

Application Deadline: 16 November 2026
Programme Dates: 23 - 27 November 2026

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Big Challenges. Fresh Perspectives.
Ideas in Action.

Design Thinking Week

Build Your Problem-Solving Skills

Approach complex challenges with curiosity, creativity, and confidence through this immersive 5-day learning experience at the Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika at the University of Cape Town.

The Design Thinking Week Student Programme will equip you with the practical mindsets and skills to navigate ambiguity and become a thoughtful, active changemaker.

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23 - 27 November 2026

No Cost

5-Day In-Person Programme

Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika, UCT

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Action-Orientated Learning

Cultivate an experimental mindset that values iteration, allowing you to build low-cost prototypes, test ideas quickly, and learn your way forward.

Different Minds, Better Ideas

Learn to collaborate with people who think differently from you, combining diverse expertise to turn conflicting perspectives into new possibilities.

Real Challenges. Real Possibilities.

Work alongside a real-world project partner to bridge the gap between classroom learning and the world beyond university.

About Design Thinking Week

At the Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika at UCT, we provide a rare opportunity to experience what it means to design beyond the classroom with real people, real contexts, and real uncertainty. Our immersive environment deliberately takes students out of traditional academic settings and into a dynamic, collaborative studio space.

Students participating in Design Thinking Week work on complex, messy challenges presented by a real project partner.

As you learn from experienced coaches, you will move directly from understanding the problem to imagining, prototyping, and testing new possibilities.

The aim is to help you develop self-awareness as a problem-solver and build a practical toolkit you can apply to everyday situations, university projects, or your professional career.

By engaging with these real-world challenges in highly diverse teams, you will develop the empathy, confidence, and action-oriented skills crucial to making a positive impact in the world we live in.

Course Overview

Dive into the world of design thinking and learn how to develop practical, human-centred solutions in a high-trust, coach-supported setting.

This course will help you:

Build creative problem-solving skills by breaking down complex problems, identifying root causes, and framing the right challenges.
Experience working in diverse, multidisciplinary teams to approach problems from multiple angles.
Discover practical tools to use anywhere, such as interviewing, journey mapping, brainstorming, and prototyping.
Elevate your creative confidence to navigate ambiguity and share ideas without waiting for certainty.

Who is this course for?

The Design Thinking Week Student Programme is aimed at registered students at any South African Higher Education institution under the age of 35 who are looking for experiences beyond the classroom and are keen to try something new.

How is the Design Thinking Week Student Programme delivered?

Face-to-Face

Duration:

5 days

Minimum Requirements

Students will need to commit their availability to present and partake for the full sessions across the tightly designed 5-day in-person programme.

Course Content

Introduction to design thinking and practical tools to use anywhere.
A human-centred approach focusing on interviewing, observing, and empathising.
Working on complex, messy challenges with a real project partner.
Practising creative confidence and navigating ambiguity.
Creative collaboration and experimentation in diverse, multidisciplinary teams.

Herewith are the final challenge statements:

Women Empowerment

How might we enable the women bead-crafters of Bili Beadwear in Wallacedene experience empowerment beyond earning an income, in ways that create greater agency, opportunity and improved social conditions?

Customer-Product Connection

How might we help local and international buyers connect more deeply with the story, people and purpose behind Bili Beadwear, in a world where fast, cheap and convenient fashion often makes it difficult for consumers to see the human hands, livelihoods and communities behind the products they choose to buy?