Carlos Antonio Charles Ambriz is a student in the Master’s programme in Sustainability Economics and Management at the University of Oldenburg in Germany. Last year, he participated in the Green Business Idea Jam which was organised as part of the ScaleUp4Sustainability project. We spoke to Carlos Antonio about his motivation to participate and his experience with the challenge.

How did you find out about the challenge and why did you decide to take part?

Carlos Antonio Charles Ambriz: After I was admitted to study at the University of Oldenburg in Germany, I started registering for specific study modules. This is when I came across the Green Business Idea Jam. The challenge-based workshop appealed to me because I really appreciate practical interaction with companies and organisations in a university context. I already had good experiences in student-business collaboration in my home country Mexico and was curious about working with a German company. I also wanted to participate in a multidisciplinary activity that promotes cooperation of students from different study backgrounds.

What was the task of the challenge and what did you specifically do there?

Carlos Antonio Charles Ambriz: The task was to develop innovative ideas to reduce the carbon footprint of BÜFA, a chemical company based in Oldenburg. By means of co-ideation, a method for jointly generating ideas in the innovation process, we were tasked with systematically developing new ideas together with the company management and employees in order to support the company’s transformation processes towards sustainability.

In the run-up to the ideation workshop, we received extensive informational material like fact sheets to read up on the topic. The workshop was kicked off with a presentation by the management who introduced their corporate strategy and provided us with insights into their sustainability challenges. After that, we were divided into three student-company teams, each of which focused on a specific topic, including operational energy, mobility and compensation.

I was part of the operational energy team. My team and I brainstormed ideas for reducing the company’s energy consumption. With the help of the innovation radar, these ideas were then ranked and assessed based on criteria such as climate impact and value creation.

What was your experience like? What was particularly fun and what was particularly challenging?

Carlos Antonio Charles Ambriz: Overall, the Green Business Idea Jam was such a valuable activity for me, both academically and personally. The individual elements built seamlessly one upon the other and the preparational materials we received were extremely helpful for the ideation process, sending us off to a well-informed start. The interaction and joint discussion of ideas with the BÜFA staff was really inspiring, though at times it was a bit challenging for me as a non-native German speaker.

“Participating in the challenge not only presented a good opportunity for me to expand my knowledge in the field of innovation, but also helped me to improve skills such as leadership, collaboration and working under time presse – all of which are essential for academic and professional success.” – Carlos Charles Antonio Ambriz

Was there a special highlight for you?

Carlos Antonio Charles Ambriz: My personal highlight was that I managed to work on a challenge organised in German. It was my first experience of this kind in a German university context and I am very proud to have mastered the ideation process in German.

Whom would you recommend to take part in this kind of challenge and why?

Carlos Antonio Charles Ambriz: I can only recommend participating in the Green Business Idea Jam or in a similar challenge activity. In my opinion, it’s especially suitable for students who are still at an early stage of their studies and want to gain practical business experience. As a student, the earlier you get to experience working with companies and other non-academic actors, the better. Really, there is nothing to lose by participating in a challenge, on the contrary, you can only benefit from it!