Katja is a consultant, researcher, executive trainer and Professor in creativity and design thinking. She is the founder of MINDSHAKE. MINDSHAKE offers consultancy and training in Creativity and Design Thinking and organizes events in this field. The vision of the company is: "Creativity is transmissible and incurable. We want to infect and to be infected." Customers of MINDSHAKE include Portuguese and international companies such as Roche, BA Glass, NOS, Paribas, Sonae, Unicer, Deloitte, among many others.

Before having founded MINDSHAKE, Katja has dedicated her professional life to academic research and teaching. For 15 years she was Professor at ESAD, College of Arts and Design in Matosinhos (Portugal), where she still is participating in research projects.

Katja is the author of the Design Thinking model "Evolution 6", which was developed and tested between 2012 and 2014, and is licensed by Creative Commons, CC by-SA since 2015. The Evolution 6 model was successfully applied in [redesigning of the approach of a state agency], [designing educational programs], helping companies like Roche in adopting Design Thinking methodology, [creating a new incubation center of the cork company Amorim], and other projects. She will be teaching Evolution 6 model at a workshop during our Design Thinking Camp.

Currently, Katja is Guest Professor at Porto Business School (Portugal) and at Laurea University (Finland). At ESAD, College of Arts and Design in Matosinhos (Portugal), she is coordinating the research project D-Think (Design Thinking Applied in Education and Training). At ESAD she also coordinated the first Post Graduation Course in Design Thinking in Portugal. Katja teaches by invitation in several other educational institutions in Portugal and abroad.