Brandt School Students Contribute to Thuringia’s Open Government Data Strategy Through Policy Capstone

In the Winter Semester 2025/26, Dr. Hasnain Bokhari, Head of Digital Policy and AI at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, is guiding MPP students in a hands-on Policy Capstone project in collaboration with Digitalagentur GmbH Thüringen. These capstones are a defining feature of the Brandt School’s MPP curriculum, designed to immerse students in real-world policy challenges while delivering actionable insights in close partnership with public and institutional stakeholders.

On Monday, 1 December 2025, MPP students welcomed Mr. Felix Haak, Consultant on Digital Transformation at Digitalagentur GmbH, to the Brandt School for a progress review session. The meeting marked a key milestone for the project group, which is currently drafting a comprehensive policy recommendation to inform the future Open Government Data strategy for the German state of Thuringia.

Since the enactment of Germany’s Open Data Act in 2017, the country has significantly intensified its open-government data efforts. Follow-on measures have enabled federal agencies to publish machine-readable, reusable datasets through national and European platforms. Building on this momentum, the Brandt School project group is developing Thuringia-specific recommendations focusing on regulatory, strategic, and technical dimensions that align with both federal mandates and European standards.  

This collaboration continues a productive partnership between the Brandt School and Digitalagentur GmbH Thüringen. In past years, Dr. Bokhari has led capstone teams on topics including digitalisation strategy, digital competencies, and the digital transformation of vocational education.