The last Design Thinking Workshop on the topic: "New learning and teaching formats for the challenges of the 21st century" took place on 01.07. and from 04.07.-07.07.2016 at the Willy Brandt Gesamtschule Mülheim/Ruhr.

Connect was successfully carried out from 2011 to 2016 at various comprehensive schools in the Ruhr area! Follow-up programs can be found under "How does the new come into the world!" and in the Creative Lab Ruhr.

We do not believe that education is only a topic for education experts, urban development only a topic for urban developers, and dementia only a topic for geragogues (experts for the elderly). Great ideas often emerge at the intersection of individual disciplines.

Connect develops solutions for societal challenges. We are interested in complex global challenges such as climate change, urban and demographic development as well as regional issues that affect coexistence in the western Ruhr region (labor market, dealing with people suffering from dementia, education, integration or how to make a district more livable for young people).

Forward-looking solutions must be radically user-oriented, which is why design thinking forms the methodological basis for project work. The entire idea development process is based on the develop human-centered principle.

Interviews with the local population and idea tests in the surrounding area are thus just as much a part of the workshop as interdisciplinary brainstorming and the involvement of experts in the development process.

The ideas are disseminated sustainably through the presentation to a selected jury from civil society, science, politics and business.