Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika at UCT

Designing a brighter future, together. Happy Youth Day! 🇿🇦

At the Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika, our studios are constantly transformed by the creative resilience of the youth. They bring the diverse perspectives and collaborative drive needed to tackle some of our society's toughest hurdles.

When young people are equipped with human-centered tools, they don't just ask "what is?"—they boldly ask "what if?"

Today, we celebrate and back the young leaders who are designing more inclusive, empathetic, and innovative spaces for us all. Happy Youth Day!

Design Thinking Week Registration is closing SOON!

Join us at the Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika, for an unforgettable 5-day student programme.

Designed to build your creative confidence and introduce you to agile problem-solving, you will immerse yourself into hands-on learning within multidisciplinary teams.

Plus, you'll earn a certificate of completion.

Dates: 22-26 June 2026

Registration Deadline: 18 June 2026

Open to registered undergraduate/postgraduate students at all South African higher education institutions
Applicants must be under the age of 35

Location: Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika, University of Cape Town

Don’t miss out on this fully immersive experience at no cost to you.

Apply now: https://wkf.ms/43cAQFu

Learn more:https://dschoolafrika.org/learn-design-thinking/student-programmes/design-thinking-week/

UCT's short course gives you tools to solve teaching and learning problems.

Whether rethinking assessment, redesigning curriculum, or responding to new digital and AI-enabled environments, educators are increasingly required to navigate complexity with clarity and intention.

UCT's Design Thinking for Learning Designers short course, offered through the Blended and Online Learning Design (BOLD) suite of short courses, and in collaboration with the Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika at the University of Cape Town, equips participants with practical tools to:

Apply human-centred design principles to curriculum and learning experiences
Prototype and test ideas in authentic educational contexts
Collaborate across teams and disciplines
Reflect critically on innovation in higher education
22 June – 2 August 2026
Mondays and Wednesdays | 16:00 – 18:00
Fully online
👉 Learn more: https://bit.ly/47fBRxJ

Degrees open doors, but future-ready skills get you through them! The Design Thinking Week, hosted by the Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika at UCT, is your chance to develop the professional toolkit: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication, and Collaboration.

This Face-to-Face, 5-day immersive programme gives you practical, hands-on experience that prepares you to navigate uncertainty and excel in any workplace environment, and walk away with a certificate of completion!

Dates: 22-26 June 2026

Registration Deadline: 18 June 2026

Criteria:

Open to registered undergraduate/postgraduate students at all South African higher education institutions
Applicants must be under the age of 35

Apply now: https://bit.ly/4uYT5sP
Learn more:https://dschoolafrika.org/learn-design-thinking/student-programmes/design-thinking-week/

Applications are officially OPEN for the Design Thinking in Afrika 2026 online programme!

Hosted by the d-school Afrika at UCT, this unique program is a fantastic opportunity for final-year students, postgrads, and recent graduates (ages 18–35) to connect with peers across the continent.

If you want to develop strong teamwork skills, boost your creativity, and learn a structured approach to problem-solving, this is for you! The program is fully sponsored for selected students, meaning there is no cost to participate.

Dates: 6 – 17 July 2026

Deadline: 24 June 2026

Don't miss out on building your skills and your network this year. Tap the link to submit your application!

Apply now: https://bit.ly/4o7lZop

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4a7INi0

Time is running out to register for 'Fast Forward'! Registration officially closes this Thursday, 11 June.

Are you a higher education professional eager to enhance your everyday problem-solving? The Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika’s 'Fast Forward' is an intensive, one-day programme created specifically for university faculty and staff members.

Join a diverse, multidisciplinary teams next week to learn human-centered tools that will help you confidently navigate workplace ambiguity and break down departmental silos.

What you need to know:

Exclusively for Higher Education professionals.
Zero prior Design Thinking experience required.
Choose one date to attend: Wednesday, 17 June OR Thursday, 18 June 2026.
Hosted in-person at the d-school Afrika, UCT Cape Town.
Invest one day in your professional growth. Register before the deadline this Thursday!

Apply now: https://bit.ly/499S5JX
Learn more: https://bit.ly/4dTZr6X

Applications are open for Falling Walls Lab Cape Town 2026.

We’re proud to host Falling Walls Lab Cape Town at the Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika, UCT — a global 3-minute pitch platform for breakthrough ideas.

If selected as a finalist, you’ll receive expert pitch training in July, ahead of the live event. The winner advances to the Falling Walls finale in Berlin, with a fully funded trip to pitch alongside innovators from around the world.

Key dates

* Applications open: 6 May – 12 June 2026
* Finalists announced: late June
* Pitch training: July 2026
* Live event: 6 August 2026 | 12:30 PM (SAST)
* Venue: Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika, UCT

Apply / learn more | Link in Bio: https://fallingwallscapetown.co.za/

If you know a student, researcher, founder, or problem-solver who should be on that stage, please share this with them.

Forget long, dry lectures and slide presentations.

A day at the Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika looks a little different. When you join us for the Fast Forward Programme, you are signing up for a high-energy, hands-on experience where the campus becomes your workshop.

This 1-day, in-person Design Thinking programme is created entirely around collaboration, real-world higher education chalenges, practical problem-solving.

What to expect:

Real Collaboration: You’ll be placed in diverse, multidisciplinary teams alongside professionals and faculty members from various departments and institutions across South Africa.
Actionable Tools: You will actively use human-centered tools that you can take straight back to your office the very next day.
Criteria:

No design background is required.
This programme is strictly reserved for higher education professionals.
Ready to shake up your approach to workplace challenges and expand your internal network?

Seats are limited.

Apply now: https://bit.ly/499S5JX

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4dTZr6X

Dates: 17 or 18 June 2026

Registration Deadline: 11 June 2026

This is what design thinking in action looks like. 🚀

Day 3 of the Afrikan Design Thinking Convening was where three days of dialogue, provocation, and community came together. Participants worked through real-world challenges across our studios, surfacing ideas and asking thought-provoking questions.

Ten years of d-school Afrika has been working toward moments like this. Here are some of the highlights. ⬇️