About Me
I grew up in a little town in the south of Germany, where I got bored. So I moved to Berlin and studied innovation.
Andreas Vetter
About Physics
I have studied physics and made my master in Biophysics. It is great to understand the world and why the sky is blue. But it is nerdy, equation-based, and it was hard to me to find a job, because no one had a job for a "physicist". So I became an engineer.
About Engineering
I have worked as an engineer in power generation, automotive and risk management so far. I like the challenges of engineering. They are clear and people know what they want. And in the end you have something that works. That is very satisfying.
About the boundaries of Engineering
In engineering, requirements determine the product. Engineers like to follow requirements. It is easy and you know what to do. But who sets the requirements? Exactly this is where engineers have to understand humans - and they are not good at it. But this is what I wanted to do. So I moved to Berlin to study user-centric Design /Design Thinking.
About User Centric Design
All products in our world have an (end-) user. Otherwise they are useless. This is why it is important to understand the user. In user-centric design, the product development starts with the user, with empathy, interviews and observations. It is not easy. Humans are complex. There are no yes' and no's for everyone. But, to find it out is a great power, and everyone needs it!
About the process of Innovation
Design Thinking is not only a 6-step-process everyone can learn, but more a scientific methods to generate innovation. It was developed as universal language for designers and is my personal key to work with people from various fields.
About my years in Berlin
My first years in Berlin, I started 4 startups, whereof 1 failed, 1 got stolen, and 2 got successful - but without me. Nonetheless, I am proud that I was an essential part in starting them all, where my role was shaping the product and setting up internal structures so others can start working. Lateron, I found myself in more solid projects, like automotive and risk-management, where my role was on the initial creation and the following steps to make things happen.
About Innovation Engineering
Now, I see myself at the interception between the user and the development team. With interdisciplinary workshops that are based on Design Thinking I transform ideas in concepts, and concepts into reality. Here I can use my expertise in Systems Engineering, and when I am lucky, I can be a part in building up the solution as well.
Andreas Vetter