Impact Week Albania 2024

In 2024 we are once again bringing Impact Week to Gjirokastër in Albania! This beautiful region in southern Albania is home to a fourth-century castle and is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage list. The area is active with tourism development and committed to the Design Thinking process to further the entrepreneurial efforts. 

With our two-module approach, we will train a new batch of Junior Coaches by guiding them through a 3-day „Train-the-Coach“ phase. The international and local participants will then take their new role as Design Thinking Coaches and work together with the students of the University of Gjirokastër to find solutions for local challenges. This defines the „practical phase“ and will give the new Coaches the unique opportunity to directly implement what they have just learned, while being guided by experienced Senior Coaches along the journey.

The innovative and customer-focused orientation of the Design Thinking methodology helps all participants to foster their way of tackling a challenge and the unique spirit of the Impact Week experience will definitely inspire you to look at entrepreneurship and social innovation in a completely different light. Check out this blogpost to get some impressions from our last Impact Week in Albania!

Then apply to secure one of our limited spots on the international Junior Coach Team!

With completion of our program you can call yourself „Design Thinking Coach“ and become a multiplier of the methodology in your professional and private life.

The dual concept of Impact Weeks consists of two modules. In a three-day learning phase, international innovation talents and lecturers from local universities are trained as Design Thinking coaches. During the practical phase, the trained coaches apply their new skills and help students identify challenges within their respective societies and solve them using innovative business models.

Upon completion of the program, you will be a trained coach who has already applied the methodology. You'll gain key skills through Design Thinking, such as innovation, customer focus, and implementation orientation. In addition, Impact Week promotes local entrepreneurship and social innovation. We enable universities to apply Design Thinking themselves and run their own Impact Weeks.

Each participating team will work on one focus area. The students can choose their focus area in the application process and get matched accordingly. Then it is up to them to own the challenge and create an innovative idea to tackle it – always keeping the Design Thinking methodology at heart.

We will update the challenges once they are determined. 

This Impact Week is scheduled in the Central European Time (UTC +2:00)

Contact the organizing team for Impact Week Albania 2024: