In our program «Design Thinking for AI» corporate partners work together with HSG students for 4 months in an interactive course format on a concrete AI challenge.

What is Design Thinking?

The basic idea is simple: In Design Thinking we start from human needs and explore technological feasibility and economic value. To do this, we use a variety of different methods and go through several iterations, in which prototypes are developed and findings and essential characteristics of a later productive solution are worked out with real users.

Why Design Thinking for Artificial Intelligence (DT4AI)?

Most of today’s AI initiatives, projects and models remain in the accelerator, lab or prototype stage. AI systems are often not integrated and “live” in productive operational environments. Our research has repeatedly shown that AI technology is a very important part in the implementation of AI projects, but that human needs, emotions and attitudes have been insufficiently considered, especially in the early stages of innovation and the subsequent design of AI solutions. This means that the more AI solutions are perceived by the end user, the more trust in technology must be fostered and the more demands, values and fears must be taken into account. (For a more detailed description, please click here: Design Thinking for Artificial Intelligence (DT4AI) at the HSG).

Our approach: Companies and HSG students work together on concrete problems and AI use cases

With Design Thinking for AI, we have developed a teaching and cooperation format in the Research Lab for Management of AI, in which students acquire the necessary skills consisting of methods, tools, but above all the mindset for the development of AI innovations. In this special setup, our corporate partners can work directly with HSG students and lecturers on concrete questions of AI-driven innovation in order to solve real problems and generate innovations.

Benefits for students

• Development of methodological and technological competence: Participation in the DT and AI Bootcamp
• Use of Design Thinking to develop AI-based business innovations with companies
• Cooperation in teams of 3-4 students with lecturers, coaches and contact persons in the company
• A 1-semester course with 8 ECTS

Benefits for companies

• An AI challenge given by partners is solved; concrete problems are worked on with tailored approaches and methods
• Identification and development of AI prototypes in cooperation with highly motivated HSG students
• Employee development through comprehensive training programs as part of the course (partners may participate in a DT and AI Bootcamp)
• Documentation of the prototype and concept for scaling into productive operation

Are you interested in joining our DT4AI program with an AI challenge?

Please leave a message in the contact form or send a message to Benjamin van Giffen or Jennifer Hehn.

The identification of value-creating use cases and their validation is a central challenge for many companies. When introducing AI, it is crucial to activate as much of the available creativity as possible. That is why we offer low-threshold, interactive opportunities to develop new, relevant use cases together with the team in the Research Lab. The paradigm is: Fail fast, learn fast.

For the subsequent selection and implementation of AI use cases in productive IT environments, however, the main thing is to check the feasibility and create an operating concept that convincingly and sustainably reflects economic, technical and organisational problems.

The incubation of AI use cases and their prototypical implementation helps you to bring AI forward efficiently and agilely. Our iterative approach ensures that internal and external knowledge is integrated so that we identify AI use cases that really add value for you.

The research at the Lab is strongly application-oriented. In research projects, we work together with our partners in practice on specific business problems in the management of Artificial Intelligence. In doing so, we often follow a design-based approach, combining operational relevance with the rigorous application of scientific research methods and existing knowledge to develop new solutions (see scheme below). Research projects are always based on a concrete problem or question.

Some examples of problems we are currently working on

• Scaling of AI: How do we go from a trained AI model to a productively usable “Business-Grade AI”?
• Organizational development: How do we need to develop our organization today so that we are ready to use AI to create value in the future? Which decision dimensions are important for this?
• AI portfolio planning: How do we move from isolated AI solutions to a systematic portfolio of value-added AI applications?
• AI project management: To what extent can AI projects be managed differently from IT or software development projects? What is new and how can we use AI more value-oriented?
• Management of data bias: How can we better address data bias and algorithmic bias in AI systems along the AI life cycle?
• Human-Machine Collaboration: Which tasks should humans, machines or human-machine systems perform? Which criteria should be used to make meaningful decisions?

The given examples show the manifold spectrum of challenges that are becoming more and more relevant for the management of AI. Please contact us if these or similar topics are relevant for your company and you would like to advance.

For most employees, AI is a field that raises new questions and problems. Within the framework of a Lab membership or participation in one of our cooperation offers, we offer seminars for different target groups in the field of AI management. We address the concrete challenges and questions of management, of specialists and executives, as well as of IT experts.

In tailor-made workshops we work on concrete challenges that arise in the operational use of AI. For example, we conduct workshops with members of the executive board in order to illuminate management fields of action and identify possible areas of engagement.

The topics covered in seminars, training courses and workshops are as varied as our partners. Feel free to contact us to tailor an offer that is exactly tailored to your needs.

How mature is your company to create sustainable value with AI? Do you develop AI applications rather driven by single opportunities or are your people, IT infrastructures and processes already stable, measured and optimized?

We develop and establish an AI maturity model with different practice partners. This enables companies to assess the maturity level of essential processes for AI development and operation and to identify and initiate necessary developments.

The assessment of the maturity also provides initial indications for the identification of AI potential in the company. We would be pleased to discuss reference processes for the identification of use cases with you, which are particularly helpful in the concrete company context. In the context of AI it is not only important to identify existing or possible tasks that can be solved with AI, but also to select the “right” or suitable AI technology (e.g. Robotic Process Automation, Deep Learning, Machine Learning, NLP, algorithmic optimization).

The guiding principle of the Research Lab is based on the core of the HSG: From Insight to Impact. Together with competent partners in practice and research, we face up to the opportunities and challenges that arise from the increased datafication and penetration of AI in our business and private lives.

The idea is to go beyond the “AI hype”, to promote the value-oriented, targeted use of AI in business environments, taking into account not only technological but also human, organizational and business requirements.

We promote networking between the members of our lab (non-competitive) and work both jointly and individually on difficult business challenges. However, a membership in the Lab is more than just some networking events or workshops. Members work closely with our PhD students, postdocs and professors on specific research tasks, support their staff through exchange and further education at the University of St.Gallen and benefit from the comprehensive repertoire of our research on AI management. If you are interested in becoming a member, please feel free to contact us.