STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
ENT 401: Design Thinking Bootcamp
In Partnership with the Strascheg Centre for Entrepreneurship
ENT 401 – APE International Design Thinking Bootcamp (in Munich, Germany)
The Academic Program for Entrepreneurship (APE) Bootcamp is a unique week-long experiential learning opportunity combining Entrepreneurship and Design Thinking hosted each March in Munich, Germany. In partnership with Europe’s foremost Design Thinking experts at the Strascheg Centre for Entrepreneurship (SCE) (external link, opens in new window) , we annually provide 15 Ryerson students with a transformative entrepreneurial experience and course credit (ENT 401) while learning abroad. The Design Thinking methodology is human-centric, focusing on thoroughly understanding the end user, creating new experiences and designing innovative business strategies and models. Students learn the latest in design thinking, lean start-up, change making and business model canvas in a multi-disciplinary creative environment while solving design challenges such as e-mobility, retail and food.
This intensive week-long course is a hands-on experiential learning opportunity for multi-disciplinary teams to implement agile rapid prototyping methods in a creative space. Students work in teams of 4-6 to ideate, observe, prototype and test products, services and/or business models towards a specific challenge such as Future of Retail, eMobility, or Food Innovation. Students will receive instruction in design thinking methods and coaching by experts in the field to help them implement these methods. It is intended that this course will help you acquire and practice the key skills and competencies of Design Thinking including user-centricity, pro-activity, teamwork, creativity and experimentation. It is an intensive experiential learning course that takes place in Munich, Germany.
Student Recap Videos
Student Testimonials
“One of the best parts of the trip was the opportunity to meet other students and staff from Ryerson that were not in the same program and/or faculty as myself. I learned about things at Ryerson that I had not discovered in my four years of attending, became aware of new opportunities in Toronto, and ultimately made strong friendships. I also am very grateful for all of the connections that I made with the international students and mentors. They gave me insight into different cultures, showed me amazing places around Munich, and openly shared their skills and knowledge. The International APE Bootcamp was one of the best experiences I had throughout my time at Ryerson University.”
“The APE International Bootcamp has been a highlight of my student experience at Toronto Metropolitan University, offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study design thinking hands-on. The immersive environment in Munich allowed me to collaborate with others and engage in ideating, observing prototyping, and testing products, services, and business models around the future of food. It helped me gain many valuable sills, such as networking, problem-solving, and experimentation, and also helped me reflect on my future career aspirations.”
“I had the most wonderful time in Munich working on this project. I could tell that I was working with such driven and accomplished students. This experience allowed me to truly grasp the concepts of design thinking, ambiguity, diversity, and entrepreneurship. As an aspiring entrepreneur myself, I know how beneficial working with passionate individuals and learning from mentors is. The APE Bootcamp provided me with this along with so much more. The ‘work hard’ ‘play hard’ life was definitely not taken lightly in Germany The beer, the pretzels, the Hofbrauhaus, the beautiful City of Munich…I could reminisce for hours. All in all, I am so honoured to have had this opportunity and will never forget it.”