From September 15 to 19, the Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) research group hosted the five-day summer school “From Ideas to Impact: Design Thinking for Diversity Medicine” at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH). Funded by the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR), the program aimed to foster data-driven and diversity-sensitive approaches to healthcare innovation, with a focus on addressing the gender data gap in medicine.
Organized in collaboration with the Institute for Diversity Medicine at Ruhr University Bochum, acadim, and Leuphana University, the summer school brought together 19 participants from diverse disciplines and regions. Working in interdisciplinary teams, they tackled real-world healthcare challenges using design thinking methods.
Topics included endometriosis, eating disorders in men, prosthetics, and patient safety. Participants engaged in user interviews with patients and medical professionals and developed data-informed, user-centered prototypes to promote inclusive healthcare solutions.
The program featured insights from leading experts, including Prof. Dr. Marie von Lilienfeld-Toal (Ruhr University Bochum), Prof. Dr. Moritz Göldner (TUHH), and Dr. Pedram Emami (President of the Hamburg Medical Association, UKE). On the final day, teams presented their concepts to an interdisciplinary jury, demonstrating how design thinking can drive diversity-aware innovation in medicine.
The summer school reflects DDI’s commitment to advancing interdisciplinary research and education at the intersection of data, design, and diversity.
