A weekend full of hands-on innovation: The Service Design Jam at the Media University Berlin

April 30, 2026

Last weekend, participants from a wide variety of backgrounds gathered at the Media University Berlin for two days filled with street interviews, prototyping, and storytelling. It was a weekend that demonstrated what learning can look like when it moves beyond the lecture hall. Thanks to a collaboration between Service Design Jam Berlin and Media University professor Jenny Bergström, students had the chance to win tickets to one of Berlin’s most renowned design jam events.

How the Collaboration Came About

The Service Design Jam Berlin is not a university-run program—it is an independent event organized by the global Service Design Jam community, which takes place every year in cities around the world. The fact that Media University students were able to participate is thanks to Professor Jenny Bergström, who initiated the collaboration and made it possible for students to win tickets. A bridge between the university and Berlin’s real design scene.

A weekend that began on Berlin’s streets

Whether experienced designers or simply curious—the Jam welcomed everyone. In a diverse community, participants worked together in mixed teams, guided by experienced expert coaches. The approach was consistently human-centered: designing with people at the center.

Teams defined their own research questions—and then headed out. Into Berlin’s neighborhoods, onto the streets, into the city. There, they conducted interviews with real people. The insights from these conversations flowed directly into ideation, prototyping, and testing.

Our professor, Jenny Bergström, gave an engaging lecture on design thinking.

Service Design Jam organizer Nic de Laczkovich led the event.

The challenges teams tackled

This round, teams worked on challenges that feel deeply of this moment:

A sense of belonging in urban spaces
Digital overload in everyday life
Reliable sources on the internet
Meaningful human connections

These aren’t abstract case studies – they’re questions Berliners navigate every day. That’s exactly why the Jam’s street-research approach works: the answers were literally out there on the pavement.

Fast, fun and energising – by design

The Jam was a fast, fun and energising experience. No room for overthinking – instead: turning ideas into action, building connections and igniting innovation. Between the intense work sessions, expert speakers delivered insightful and inspiring talks, while energising and mindful activities kept participants focused and creative right through to the end.

The finale: stories, not slides

All teams presented their concepts not as a classic slide deck, but as a played-out demonstration – with storytelling at its heart. A finale as authentic as the process itself: rooted in real insights, delivered with real conviction.

What this means for studying at Media University

This Design Jam wasn’t a compulsory module, a seminar or an organised field trip. It was a real event in Berlin’s design community – and our students were invited to be part of it. That’s not coincidental. It reflects an approach to higher education that thinks beyond the campus: connected to the city, connected to practice, connected to people who live and breathe design.