Digital Product School
Digital Product School is a free three-month training program run by UnternehmerTUM in Munich that places cross-functional teams on real digital product challenges from industry and government partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersMunich, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Digital Product School does
Digital Product School (DPS) is a three-month intensive training program founded in 2017 and operated by UnternehmerTUM GmbH at the Technical University of Munich's Entrepreneurship Center in Garching bei München, Germany. Each batch assembles cross-functional teams comprising a Product Manager, Interaction Designer, Software Engineer, and AI Specialist, who work on real-world digitalization challenges brought by industry and government partners using design thinking, agile, and lean startup methodologies. Teams build MVPs using standard industry tooling (React, Spring, Figma, GitHub, Google Cloud) and have produced outcomes such as the CareMates AI-powered patient admission platform with Caritas and the Inclus accessible-toilet locator with the City of Munich.
The program is free for participants, who receive a scholarship of up to €1,000 per month (up to €3,000 total) that can be waived; it is funded by industry and government partners who cover operating costs in exchange for access to fresh talent and innovative solutions. Notable partners include SAP, BMW Group, Infineon, Nokia, Red Bull, AISIN, Hörmann, Pfaff, Fazua, the Cities of Munich and Hamburg, Bavarian state ministries, and NGOs such as Caritas and the German Red Cross. A specialized sub-program, the Incubator for Inclusion, was launched in 2021 with Christoffel-Blendenmission and Reinhard Frank-Stiftung to serve blind and visually impaired participants.
DPS is positioned as a non-profit talent and innovation program embedded within Europe's largest entrepreneurship ecosystem. Since 2017 it has trained over 1,000 participants across more than 200 teams on approximately 200 challenges. It is governed as a program under UnternehmerTUM GmbH, which employs more than 500 people and provides infrastructure, brand, and network reach, and it has no external venture capital funding or public revenue disclosure.
Digital Product School firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Digital Product School
- Legal name
- UnternehmerTUM GmbH
- Website
- https://digitalproductschool.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Digital Product School is a free three-month training program run by UnternehmerTUM in Munich that places cross-functional teams on real digital product challenges from industry and government partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Digital Product School industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Professional Training & Education
- NAICS
- Computer Training (611420), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Technical & Digital Skills Training (BPACANAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)
Keywords
Where Digital Product School is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Munich
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Digital Product School business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Partner-Funded Training Scholarships: DPS is a non-profit program. It is funded by industry partners who bring real-world digitalization challenges. Partners cover the cost of running the program; participants receive a scholarship of up to €1,000 per month as a stipend rather than wages.
- Incubator for Inclusion Sponsorship: The Incubator for Inclusion is supported by Christoffel Blindenmission e.V. and Reinhard Frank-Stiftung, which fund the inclusive training format for visually impaired participants.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Program with Scholarship |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Digital Product School product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Digital Product School operates a three-month intensive internship and training program where cross-functional teams of Product Managers, Interaction Designers, Software Engineers, and AI Specialists apply design thinking, agile, and lean startup methodologies to solve real-world digital product challenges set by industry and government partners. The program is free for participants, who receive a scholarship of up to €1,000 per month, and is funded by partner companies and organizations that bring challenges and cover program costs. A specialized variant, the Incubator for Inclusion, provides the same training to blind and visually impaired participants.
Product overview
Digital Product School is a three-month intensive training program run by UnternehmerTUM, not a traditional software product company. It offers a structured educational program where cross-functional teams (Interaction Designers, Product Managers, Software Engineers) work together on real-world digital product challenges brought by industry partners. Participants receive scholarship support (up to €1,000/month), coaching, and mentorship. The program uses design thinking, agile, and lean startup methodologies. Alumni from the program have gone on to build products (such as CareMates, which uses AI for healthcare documentation), but these are outcomes of participants rather than products offered by Digital Product School itself.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Incubator for Inclusion: A specialized three-month on-site program for people with visual impairment, developed in partnership with Christoffel-Blindenmission and Reinhard Frank-Stiftung. The program includes an online course on Coursera followed by participation in the main DPS program.
Products and services
- Digital Product School 90-Day Training Program A free, three-month intensive training and internship program for digital professionals, students, graduates, and career changers. Cross-functional teams of Product Managers, Interaction Designers, Software Engineers, and AI Specialists apply design thinking, agile, and lean startup methodologies to solve real-world digital product challenges brought by industry and government partners. Accepted participants receive a scholarship of up to €1,000 per month (up to €3,000 total) and a certificate upon completion.
- Incubator for Inclusion A specialized three-month on-site program for blind and visually impaired participants, delivered as an inclusive variant of the DPS training. Includes a preparatory online Coursera course, on-site participation in the main DPS program, and inclusive infrastructure support such as accommodation assistance, commute help, and accessible tools. Supported by Christoffel-Blindenmission and Reinhard Frank-Stiftung.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1,000 participants and 200+ teams completed since 2017
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Digital Product School
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Digital Product School technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Digital Product School partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
23 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, minor and supporting.
- UnternehmerTUMcoreDigital Product School is a program run by UnternehmerTUM GmbH, Europe's leading center for innovation and business creation. DPS is hosted at UnternehmerTUM's headquarters in the Entrepreneurship Center of TUM in Garching. UnternehmerTUM provides the ecosystem, network, and organizational infrastructure supporting DPS operations.
- SAPflagshipSAP Labs Munich is an industry partner of DPS. SAP's Managing Director Stefan Wagner has publicly endorsed DPS as a booming ecosystem of top talents, academic institutions, corporates, networks, and startups, stating that product innovation is best generated with partners.
- Pfaff Werkzeug- und FormenbauflagshipPfaff partnered with DPS to develop a SaaS tool for production data collection in injection molding. Marc Mataix (CFO) joined DPS to find external digital expertise to develop the right tools. The resulting product GenWhy delivers transparency on production lines for Pfaff's customers.
- Hörmann Gruppe / Hörmann DigitalflagshipHörmann partnered with DPS to develop predictive maintenance solutions for automated warehouses. Anna Hörmann led the partnership and later hired a development team to roll out the BugJack ticket system, which reduced warehouse downtimes significantly.
- City of MunichcoreThe City of Munich partnered with DPS through the Open Source Factory to work on city problems. One result was Inclus, a web app for wheelchair users to find accessible toilets, initiated by city council members and officially launched in May 2023.
- TUM Venture LabscoreTUM Venture Labs partnered with DPS to develop Glocally, a sustainable last-mile delivery platform for urban retailers. Co-Founder Felix Steinbrenner described DPS as invaluable for unlocking team potential and ensuring startup growth.
- Technical University of Munich (TUM)coreDPS is located in the Entrepreneurship Center of the Technical University of Munich at the Garching research campus. The partnership provides access to TUM's 17,000+ students, world-class research institutes, and the TUM Entrepreneurship Research Institute.
- Christoffel-Blindenmission (CBM)coreCBM is one of the leading international organizations for inclusive development, supporting people with disabilities for over 115 years. CBM supports the Incubator for Inclusion at DPS, an inclusive training program for blind and visually impaired participants developing digital solutions for the visually impaired community.
- Reinhard Frank-StiftungcoreThe Reinhard Frank-Stiftung supports young people who are blind or visually impaired in acquiring education and training. The foundation supports the Incubator for Inclusion at DPS, providing funding for inclusive digital product training for visually impaired individuals.
- BMW GroupminorBMW Group is listed among the forward-thinking industry partners of DPS, indicating active participation in the program ecosystem.
- InfineonminorInfineon is listed among the forward-thinking industry partners of DPS, indicating active participation in the program ecosystem.
- Red BullminorRed Bull is listed among the forward-thinking industry partners of DPS, indicating active participation in the program ecosystem.
- NokiaminorNokia is listed among the forward-thinking industry partners of DPS, indicating active participation in the program ecosystem.
- AISINminorAISIN is listed among the forward-thinking industry partners of DPS, indicating active participation in the program ecosystem.
- FazuaminorFazua is listed among the forward-thinking industry partners of DPS, indicating active participation in the program ecosystem.
- Landesamt für Stadtentwicklung und Gewässer Hamburg (LSBG)minorLSBG Hamburg is listed among the forward-thinking industry partners of DPS.
- FigmasupportingFigma is listed as an innovative tool partner of DPS, providing design and prototyping tools used by participants for interface design and rapid prototyping.
- Google CloudsupportingGoogle Cloud is listed as an innovative tool partner of DPS, providing cloud infrastructure and services used by participants for building and deploying applications.
- GitHubsupportingGitHub is listed as an innovative tool partner of DPS, providing version control and collaboration tools for software engineering teams.
- WebflowsupportingWebflow is used as the website hosting platform for DPS and is listed as a tool partner.
- JetBrainssupportingJetBrains is listed as an innovative tool partner of DPS, providing IDE and development tools for software engineers.
- ProtoPiesupportingProtoPie is listed as a tool partner for interaction design prototyping at DPS.
- UXPinsupportingUXPin is listed as a tool partner for UX design and prototyping at DPS.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Digital Product School competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- IDEO U: IDEO U is the educational arm of IDEO, offering design thinking and innovation courses to individuals and organizations. Comparable in teaching design thinking and human-centered innovation methodologies, though delivered online rather than in on-site cohorts.
- Le Wagon: Le Wagon is a global coding and data bootcamp that trains individuals in cross-functional product teams over intensive weeks, with strong European presence and similar target learner. Unlike DPS it is paid; on methodology, cohort structure, and audience it is a direct comparator.
- Ironhack: Ironhack operates tech bootcamps (web dev, data, UX) across Europe, the US, and LATAM with intensive cohorts. Comparable in cohort intensity, audience (career changers), and digital-product focus, though paid and broader in scope than DPS's product-team specialization.
- Reforge: Reforge provides cohort-based and self-paced education for product management, growth, and AI in tech, with a strong senior-professional audience. Comparable in its product-management specialization and curriculum depth, though online-only.
- Product School: Product School is the most direct US-based peer: it offers certificates and immersive programs in Product Management, UX, and AI for professionals, combining live cohorts with industry-relevant curriculum. Comparable target audience (career-transition professionals and corporate teams) and overlapping methodology.
- BrainStation: BrainStation offers industry-focused digital skills training in product, design, data, and development across North America. Closely comparable in offering a professional upskilling curriculum with industry-influenced content and corporate partnerships.
- General Assembly: General Assembly is a long-established provider of immersive and part-time courses in software engineering, data, UX, and product management. It was acquired by Adecco and has overlapping curriculum (agile, product, design) with DPS, though commercial rather than partner-funded.
- Hasso Plattner Institute School of Design Thinking (HPI d.school): The HPI d.school runs a near-identical model: a university-anchored, design-thinking-driven innovation program where interdisciplinary teams work on partner challenges. Both combine academia, industry partners, and project-based learning with a free/sponsored format — making HPI the closest structural analog.
Regional players
- SPICED Academy: SPICED Academy is a Berlin-based data and product training bootcamp targeting career changers and corporate teams in the DACH region. Comparable in offering intensive upskilling cohorts to digital professionals, though paid and focused on data rather than product development.
Broad incumbents
- UnternehmerTUM (MakerSpace / TUM Venture Labs): UnternehmerTUM is the parent organization that runs DPS as one of many programs alongside MakerSpace, TUM Venture Labs, and UVC Partners. As the broader ecosystem operator, it represents the institutional incumbent that owns and could expand or scale DPS-style models.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Digital Product School social profiles
Digital presenceDigital Product School financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Digital Product School leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
Digital Product School funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Digital Product School M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Digital Product School
What does Digital Product School do?
Digital Product School operates a three-month intensive internship and training program where cross-functional teams of Product Managers, Interaction Designers, Software Engineers, and AI Specialists apply design thinking, agile, and lean startup methodologies to solve real-world digital product challenges set by industry and government partners. The program is free for participants, who receive a scholarship of up to €1,000 per month, and is funded by partner companies and organizations that bring challenges and cover program costs. A specialized variant, the Incubator for Inclusion, provides the same training to blind and visually impaired participants.
Is Digital Product School a public or private company?
Digital Product School is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Digital Product School founded?
Digital Product School was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Digital Product School based?
Digital Product School is headquartered in Munich, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Digital Product School make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Partner-Funded Training Scholarships are the primary driver. The others are incubator for Inclusion Sponsorship.
Who are Digital Product School's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are IDEO U, Le Wagon, Ironhack, Reforge, Product School, BrainStation, General Assembly and Hasso Plattner Institute School of Design Thinking (HPI d.school). SPICED Academy is listed as a regional player. UnternehmerTUM (MakerSpace / TUM Venture Labs) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Digital Product School have an API?
No public API is recorded for Digital Product School.
What industry is Digital Product School in?
Digital Product School's product category is Professional Training & Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACANAB, Technical & Digital Skills Training, with a secondary code of BPAGADAG, STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits. Its NAICS code is 611420 and its SIC code is 8200.