Mission Statement
I believe managing is designing: shaping systems, cultures and choices. I am passionate about developing business models that enable meaningful, resilient and future-oriented transformation.
Biography
Prof. Dr. Andrea Augsten has been Professor of Management & Design at New Design University since September 2025. She is recognised as an expert on design for and in transformation and focuses on both the theoretical and practical application of design research to organisational change, digital transformation, and policy-making. Her research explores the role of design and management in innovation and transformation processes, emphasising an expanded understanding of innovation that includes technological, social, and organisational dimensions. She builds bridges between theory and practice and develops participatory, human-oriented approaches that integrate design, management and entrepreneurial thinking. Her work centres on participatory and transdisciplinary formats for cultural change, on the contextual adaptation of design and innovation methods, and on systemic design approaches that help organisations build resilience and sustainable transformation strategies. Her extensive industry experience in foresight and innovation management projects forms a strong foundation for this work. Before joining NDU, she served as Visiting Professor in the Eleonore Trefftz Programme at TU Dresden and worked with institutions such as Volkswagen’s corporate foresight unit, the GIZ, and the University of Applied Sciences Schwäbisch Gmünd. She holds a PhD from the University of Wuppertal on design thinking in industry and studied design at Folkwang University of the Arts. She teaches internationally and serves on the CoDesign Journal’s Editorial Board, as Vice Chair of the DGTF, and as an associate member of the German Club of Rome.
Questionnaire
Where do you want to foster change and why?
I want to foster change in inter- and transdisciplinary settings, where design can connect diverse forms of knowledge and perspectives to address complex challenges collaboratively.
What or who influenced you during your professional career?
Curiosity, mentors who encouraged my own path, and the shift from visual design to world-making shaped me. Their trust helped me explore design as a practice of inquiry, not perfection.
We all have those significant moments or situations (success or failure); which one was yours, and what did you learn from it?
Moving between sectors—industry, international cooperation, and academia—always confronted me with new logics, cultures and implicit rules I didn’t yet know. The irritation this caused taught me to stay curious, ask questions and embrace the unknown. These transitions showed me that designers can thrive where boundaries shift, if they meet change with courage and openness.