Design Thinkers Academy launches in UK to “help organisations excel at design”

Designer Thinkers Academy is launching in the UK, offering design thinking training for leadership teams at large organisations.

Design Thinkers Academy was founded in Amsterdam in 2011 and has worked with hundreds of organisations, helping them to integrate design thinking into their businesses.

The organisation’s UK arm is opening in London and is led by former Design Council chief executive David Kester.

Open and bespoke courses

It is offering courses led by the likes of Joe Ferry, brand and experience architect at Merlin Entertainments Group, and Arnoud Koning, design thinking champion at Proctor & Gamble.

Businesses it has worked with so far include Coca-Cola, L’Oreal and Mastercard.

Design Thinkers Academy UK is offering a series of open and bespoke courses – the first open course is a Design Thinkers Bootcamp being held on 18-22 April.

Partnering with Design Museum

The organisation is also partnering with the Design Museum’s Learning Department to offer a set of courses aimed at young people and educators.

David Kester, managing partner at Design Thinkers Academy London, says: “Design thinking drives people to look through the eyes of their customers so they can serve them better.

“It’s increasingly being adopted by some of the most successful businesses in the world. We want to help organisations excel at design thinking and innovate.”

“learn-by-doing”

Arne van Oosterom, senior partner and co-founder at Design Thinkers Group, says: “We are delighted to be launching a new centre of excellence in London, a leading creative and commercial capital in Europe – and to be working with the Design Museum.

“Our Group’s mission is to help people ‘learn-by-doing’ and strengthen their creative problem-solving abilities. The launch of a new London hub extends our reach and is a significant step towards this goal.”