Thinking Across Boundaries

On December 12, 2014, Fraunhofer CeRRI hosted the international symposium “Thinking Across Boundaries - How Design fosters Innovation” at the Berlin University of the Arts. The symposium examined the ways in which design can contribute to strengthening the innovative capacity of research institutions, organizations and companies across disciplinary boundaries.

The aim was to facilitate a first-time exchange between the renowned research institutions Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), Industrial Technology Research Institute (Taiwan) and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Germany). Experience has already been gained here with user- and design-oriented approaches to technology development. In addition to a wide range of technological resources, the interdisciplinary institutions also take into account the needs of people and society in order to derive potential and new markets for innovations. The perspective of the invited research institutions was supplemented by insights into the innovation management of a globally active technology group and the public sector using the example of the European Commission.

The Berlin symposium initiated an interdisciplinary discourse that focused on the diversity of experiences and mutual learning. The opportunities, framework conditions and effects of successfully integrating design into research planning and technology development were examined from different perspectives and cultural backgrounds. Finally, the participants presented a joint statement on the understanding and benefits of design.

Speakers:

Prof. Dr. Martina Schraudner, Head of Fraunhofer CeRRI
Dr. Wen-Jean Hsueh, Chairman ITRI Creativity Lab
Prof. Carlo Ratti, Director MIT SENSEable City Laboratory
Dr. Ralph Heinrich, UN Economic Commission for Europe
Prof. Kora Kimpel, Vicepresident of University of the Arts Berlin
Dr. Bettina Maisch, Senior Innovation Manager, Siemens Ltd. China, Corporate Technology