The Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking Afrika at the University of Cape Town is a place where creative intelligence is unlocked, and where future-ready leadership is developed.
Known as the d-school, it was launched as a strategic initiative in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor in August 2015, with funding provided by Prof. Dr. Hasso Plattner and the Hasso Plattner Trust. The d-school is one of only three prestigious Hasso Plattner Institutes (HPIs) in the world. It joins the earlier established HPIs at the University of Potsdam in Berlin, Germany, and Stanford University in the USA.
The d-school offers training in design thinking to UCT students and staff. It also offers design thinking engagements for industry and government leaders. Design thinking is a methodology, or mindset, that facilitates innovative solutions to problems and operates at the interface of human values, business and technology.
During April 2017, the d-school was officially incorporated organisationally as a unit in CHED although its director, Richard Perez, retains direct accountability to the OVC and HP Trust.