I had the privilege of lecturing on game design at Berlin's TU to first year architecture students, and have posted it--together with photos from the students and their work--on the Opinionated Gamer's website as part of my Postcards From Berlin article series. Hope you enjoy it!
http://opinionatedgamers.com/2012/07/20/postcard-from-berlin-56-lecturin...
In the presentation you refer that the Euro (or german) games are: "thematic rather than abstract". I wonder if this isn't a writing mistake, because it tended to be just the opposite.
I especially liked how you explain that it was Catan who made Spiel des Jahres famous and important, and not the other way around. I, too, think that Spiel des Jahres owes ALOT to Catan, that it was Catan who made Spiel des Jahres what it is today.