Great things are happening in the DesAlps project: we are right in the middle of our pilot actions and very excited about the first experiences. All project partners conducted various Design Thinking workshops in the last six months. Depending on the target audience, the workshops focused on quite different topics – ranging from work-life balance and open innovation to "Beyond Methods - Agile as an attitude". With these wide-ranging subjects, our workshops attracted many different types of SMEs: Start-Ups, Co-operatives, Non-Profit service providers, consultants, zero-waste shops, industry, and creatives to name but a few.

Right now, most partners have conducted the first half of the “Pilot Action 1”. Those are very short (half-day) Design Thinking Workshops aiming at getting the SMEs interested into Design Thinking. Some partners already conducted a few “Pilot Action 2” workshops with a duration of 2 days providing a deeper Design Thinking experience and the possibility to work on real-life Design Challenges from the participating companies themselves. So far, the feedback from all participants was good – they are eager to work with Design Thinking and to participate in further DesAlps activities. Until the end of May, the Pilot Actions will be carried on focusing on Pilot Action 2, consequently offering in-deep Design Thinking activities for SMEs.

If you are interested in Design Thinking and want to participate in the Pilot Actions, join the DesAlps community at www.designthinkinglab.eu or take a look at the DesAlps webpage for a workshop close to you!