Barbara Ehbauer is a student in the Master’s programme in Sustainability Economics and Management at the University of Oldenburg in Germany, where she also works as a student assistant. Last year, she got the chance to participate in the challenge-based ‘Sustainable Venturing’ module. The challenge was organised as part of the ScaleUp4Sustainability project. We spoke to Barbara Ehbauer about her motivation to participate and her experience with the challenge.

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

Barbara Ehbauer: I was browsing our university website on the lookout for an interesting supplementary module, when I stumbled across the ‘Sustainable Venturing’ module. What caught my curiosity was the fact that the module had been awarded several prizes. In addition, a fellow student who had already participated in the module spoke of a very rewarding experience. This convinced me to register right away.

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

Barbara Ehbauer: The challenge we were provided by the recognised photographic processing company CEWE was to develop an economically and ecologically feasible take-back system for old photo products in the sense of a circular economy. The approach my team and I took was to think beyond the mere returning of old photo products. We also considered the important factor motivation: How do you motivate people to return their old photo products? The focus we decided to take was to develop a meaningful incentive system for this.

My team then developed the idea of a circular economy living lab. We proposed to introduce an innovation truck as a minimum viable product, which would function as a living lab and motivate people to return their photo products. The idea was to offer a one-week programme with a wide variety of actions and exhibitions. This would give visitors a space with exciting educational formats where they could learn more about the circular economy.

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

Barbara Ehbauer: Participating in the challenge has been invaluable to my university experience. At university, problems are usually approached in a very theoretical way and students often look at them from an idealistic perspective. So, I found it exciting to work on a sustainability challenge in a practice-oriented way. I also gained a realistic insight into the challenges that companies currently face in implementing circular economy strategies.

What I perceived as very positive was the eye-to-eye collaboration with CEWE. I felt I was taken very seriously as a student. I can also say that participating in the challenge helped me to improve my communication proficiencies with companies, especially when it comes to convincing a company of your ideas. While at times, this proved quite challenging, it was a good training for my future career. As an aspiring sustainability economist, convincing different actors of new ideas and necessary changes will very likely be a standard part of my job.

I also enjoyed the team work, because we could all rely on each other. Even though all team members were studying the same Master’s programme, we were very mixed in terms of our backgrounds. While some brought more knowledge from the technical field, others had more knowledge of economics and sustainability science. Here, our competencies complemented each other very well, which enabled us to divide our tasks well and work efficiently within a given time frame.

What I also appreciated was the continuous support and advice we received throughout the challenge. Both the CEWE staff as well as our lecturers and tutors provided us with encouraging mentorship. We could turn to them at any time for questions. I liked that the academic staff shared so many helpful tools and frameworks with us. For example, we learned to use the Sustainable Business Model Canvas to turn our idea into a viable business model. The Value Proposition Canvas was also a great tool to go further and systematically understand the customer and our offer to them. Of course, I also gained a lot of knowledge about the circular economy and its role for sustainable development.

“I appreciated the continuous support we received throughout the challenge. Both the company staff and the academic staff provided us with encouraging guidance and feedback. We could turn to them at any time for questions. It was also great that the academic staff shared so many helpful tools and frameworks with us.” – Barbara Ehbauer

Was there a special highlight for you?

Barbara Ehbauer: My special highlight was the teamwork, as it was very inspiring to work together and we were all supportive of one another – I would like to take this opportunity to thank them once again! The final presentation to the CEWE management board and staff was also an absolute highlight. It was exciting to receive direct feedback and together discuss remaining questions. This allowed my team to really understand the strengths of our idea and to see where there was still room for improvement. This stands in contrast to many other university modules, in which you receive a final grade but no real feedback to learn from.

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

Barbara Ehbauer: On the one hand, I recommend this challenge-based module to students who want to work on sustainability topics in a practice-oriented way and are interested in teamwork and collaboration with established companies. On the other hand, I recommend participation in student-business challenges to companies that are motivated to tackle sustainability issues or have already reached a certain level of maturity in the area of sustainability and would like to improve further.

Merel Laura de Niet is currently completing her Master’s studies in Cognitive Neuropsychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. During her Bachelor’s studies in Cognitive Neuroscience at Tilburg University, she participated in the Fujifilm Future Challenge which was initiated by Fujifilm’s open innovation hub looking for new sustainable business models with Fujifilm’s technologies. We spoke to Merel Laura de Niet to find out more about her experience of taking part in the challenge.

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

Merel Laura de Niet: Our university had made an official announcement saying they were looking for students to participate in the Fujifilm Future Challenge as a university team. I was interested in taking part, mostly because I saw that Fujifilm also works in the medical field and develops neuro-regenerative technologies. With Neuroscience as my major, this sparked my interest. I had some extra-time on my hands to participate and also wanted to get a glimpse into the business world. Besides, this seemed like a suitable and at the same time fun experience to add to my CV.

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

Merel Laura de Niet: Fujifilm’s Open Innovation Hub gave us the challenge to develop an innovative sustainable idea related to the field of either healthcare, energy, water or membranes – so actually a very broad challenge! We were asked to look at the technologies Fujifilm has developed and come up with new, viable applications of these technologies that have potential to contribute to a better world. The Innovation Hub managers invited us to really think outside the box. They stressed that they were not looking for products and solutions that already exist, but something that had never been thought of before.  

Our first idea was a water filtering technology which we dropped quickly as we realised it wasn’t innovative enough. Eventually, we came up with “Cool Trash”, a trash bin system featuring smart AI camera technology. Given the large amounts of waste produced at public events such as festivals, our solution aimed at making it easier to recycle mixed materials. The smart trash bin we developed can recognise different types of trash via image recognition technology, eventually separating it into different containers. To motivate users to use the smart bin, we came up with a reward system that would allow users to scan their phones and eventually receive benefits or discounts for sustainable companies via an app. We saw this as a win-win for everyone – the rate of recycled trash would increase, while people benefit from discounts and sustainable brands receive more customers.

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

Merel Laura de Niet: Overall, I had a great experience. What was especially fun was preparing the pitch of our solution to the managers at Fujifilm. We were actually asked to prepare a video pitch instead of a classical pitch. I really enjoyed the process of producing the video. Compared to the usual presentations you give at university, this was definitely a more interactive and creative way of communicating our solution and its innovative character.

I also appreciated the support we received from the academic staff. When we asked to schedule sessions to receive feedback on our idea, they were always really quick to answer and flexible with time. That was really nice, knowing we could reach out to them at anytime to discuss our ideas and receive comments that challenged us to think further.

The team work turned out to be a little challenging at first, as two of my team members left in the middle of the challenge. While this made me a little unsure as to whether to continue myself, my team member Tim and I decided we definitely wanted to carry on, despite being a two-people team. Working together turned out to be really fun. Tim came from a totally different field than I did, he was majoring in Business IT. This definitely helped us in the ideation process, as we brought together different ideas and perspectives. For instance, he came up with the idea of integrating the NFC technology into the trash bin solution.

“Initially, it did take us some time to come up with a good solution. But I realised that the challenge encouraged us to think differently. We had to define the societal problem we wanted to solve first and then narrow down our ideas to the best solution. That is, participating in the challenge definitely pushed my skills in creativity and innovative thinking.” – Merel Laura de Niet

What I perceived as most challenging was the fact that it was a very broad challenge. Hence, the start of the challenge was the most demanding phase. While we did receive a lot of information upfront, there were so many possible ideas to follow up on and it was really hard to come up with that one great and innovative idea. While it did take us some time initially, I realised it encouraged us to think differently, defining the societal problem we wanted to solve first and narrowing down our ideas to the best solution. That is, participating in the challenge definitely pushed my skills in creativity and innovative thinking. This was also encouraged by Fujifilm management staff who really wanted us to channel all our creativity.

Was there a special highlight for you?

Merel Laura de Niet: What I actually enjoyed most was the process of creating the video for our final pitch to Fujifilm. While it had proved quite challenging to come up with the idea itself, it really only took shape when developing the video. I think this is due to the fact that producing the video really made you rethink the solution you were proposing and how to communicate the idea effectively for the Fujifilm managers and academic staff to grasp.

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

Merel Laura de Niet: Would I recommend taking part in this kind of challenge? Yes, definitely! Why? Because it is becoming more and more important to think in terms of the positive impact you create for society and the planet. I’d direct my recommendation especially to students who want to be challenged to think of really smart solutions to modern problems. Students can gain a lot of knowledge from the academic staff who are at the forefront of innovative learning for sustainability. At the same time, they receive the opportunity to work directly with experienced industry professionals who are leaders in their fields.

And I think becoming a corporate partner to a challenge could be beneficial for businesses which aren’t quite there yet in terms of sustainability, but are open to development and innovation. There are a lot of young people out there who want to contribute their innovative ideas to make this world a better place!  

Yash Premchandani is a Sustainability Consultant and former student in the Master’s programme in Sustainability Engineering and Management at Linköping University in Sweden. Last year, he participated in the International Circular Challenge which was organised as part of the ScaleUp4Sustainability project. We spoke to Yash Premchandani 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?

Yash Premchandani: I got to know of the opportunity to partake in the Circular Challenge through one of my university instructors. He had sent us some information prior to the challenge which convinced me to particate – on the one hand, because it sounded like a fun activity and on the other, because it would enable me to make a small contribution to sustainability. So I took the plunge!

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

Yash Premchandani: As the name suggests, the challenge took a circular economy focus. When the challenge was kicked off, three very interesting but different companies presented their circular business case to us and elaborated on their experiences and challenges. What they all have in common is their mission to increase their circular business practices. My team and I were matched to DSM Niaga, a Dutch company that redesigns products for circularity, their ultimate mission being to design out waste completely. Their products include carpets, mattresses and furniture panels, which belong to the top 10 bulky waste items worldwide, according to DSM Niaga. They also place a big focus on promoting the return of recyclable products.

The challenge we were provided was how to further expand into the student market and make the DSM Niaga mattresses interesting for the young generation. My team and I tried to develop an idea that would allow for the company to stay profitable while expanding into new sectors. We suggested that first, the company expands into the hotel sector by setting up new contracts with a range of hotels. Once the hotels decided to return the mattresses they had acquired from DSM Niaga, these mattresses would be recycled again and sold to universities. In this way, DSM Niaga could cooperate with the university marketing to educate the students about the recycled mattresses in their student dormitories. In this way, resource efficiency would be promoted while at the same time raising student awareness around recycled products.

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

Yash Premchandani: Overall, it was a really interesting experience for me. As a student, you are usually a bit more idealistic. The experience of working together with a company helped me to see the kind of constraints and challenges companies face. There are so many different factors to take into consideration. Transitioning to a circular economy is a long process and you need to take many small steps and consider different ways of how to go about it. You really have to find the right balance between incorporating ecological and social factors into your decision, making a contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, while at the same time ensuring economic viability. It was super interesting to experience this first-hand in the challenge process. At the same time, it was an inspiring experience, because it made me realise how much impact a single business can achieve when it successfully scales. You basically realise how small contributions can make a huge difference.

“I’m happy I got the opportunity to interact with impact-oriented companies and understand their missions, their strategies and to get behind their thought processes. It has definitely made me better understand the entrepreneurial mindset. Those are insights you will never get out of a theoretical class.”  – Yash Premchandani

Was there a special highlight for you?

Yash Premchandani: My personal highlight was seeing that a lot of new companies are starting up with the purpose of first and foremost making a contribution to the different Sustainable Development Goals. That was new and exciting for me to see. I’m happy I got the opportunity to interact with these impact-oriented companies and understand their missions, their strategies and to get behind their thought processes. It has definitely made me better understand the entrepreneurial mindset. Those are insights you will never get out of a theoretical class.

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

Yash Premchandani: I recommend this challenge-based format to any student, really! Right now, every company around the world is faced with the challenge of how to move towards more sustainability. So regardless of your field of study, whether you come from engineering or the social sciences, you will be dealing with sustainability at some point in your professional life. Being exposed to the topic early on in your studies and learning about it in a practice-oriented environment is an eye-opening experience. Also, you get to meet new people, develop your connections and open up to different perspectives. I think all students who get the opportunity to participate in a challenge-based activity should just go for it!

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

Quirin Schuierer: The Climate Challenge is part of the Innovation Management module, which was one of the elective modules I’d selected to study for my Master’s degree. I’d already heard about the module and the challenge from fellow students, who praised it for its strong practical orientation. I was motivated to participate in the challenge as I wanted to gain practical experience in working with an established company.

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

Quirin Schuierer: The task was to develop an idea to promote sustainability innovation at BÜFA, a medium-sized chemical company from Oldenburg. Here, the focus was explicitly on promoting innovations outside the company. My team developed the idea of crediting the company’s investments in start-ups, such as chemical or tech start-ups, as a way to achieve emission certificates. However, as our research showed very early on, it’s not possible to implement this under current legislation, so we had to drop this idea.

Instead, we developed the idea of building an innovation community around BÜFA. The concept of the innovation community denotes a group of experts from different organisations working together towards the common goal of innovation. The basis for the concept is the promoter model which asks about the key players in the innovation process – so those who support an innovation process with special commitment. We identified actors from other companies, associations and start-up clubs who seemed suitable for cooperation with BÜFA’s management to build a network for sustainable innovation. Here, we also took account of the political power that an innovation community potentially has to help push certain ideas and innovations, such as crediting investments in green start-ups as emission certificates.

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

Quirin Schuierer: I liked that we got to work on an existing problem and that this required a high degree of independence. This really doesn’t compare to a traditional seminar at university, which usually concludes with a paper and maybe a presentation. In the Climate Challenge seminar, we had a real-life problem in front of us, which we had to solve together as a group. Although we also drew on theories that we had learned during the seminar, it was more about applying them in practice – which I thought was super interesting.

I also thought the interdisciplinary group work was a lot of fun. We were a group of students who all hailed from different programmes, so every team member brought different skills and knowledge to the process. For instance, we brought in both economic and sustainability science knowledge which fit really well in this case. In addition, some of the team members contributed useful input on project management through previous project work experience, from which we benefited greatly as a team.

“I really enjoyed working on a real-life problem in an interdisciplinary team and that this required a high degree of independence and self-organisation. Although we also drew on theories we had learned about during the challenge activity, it was more about applying them in practice – which I thought was super interesting.” – Quirin Schuierer

Was there a special highlight for you?

Quirin Schuierer: My highlight was the successful team work with other students. It was also great to eventually present our work to the company. Receiving feedback was very valuable, and of course, we were happy that the company was satisfied with our idea. Even though our idea was not implemented, it is still nice to know that our ideas and insights provided the company with new food for thought.

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

Quirin Schuierer: I would recommend this challenge-based seminar to students willing to leave their comfort zone and those motivated to step out of the academic cosmos for a bit and get a taste of the real-world business challenges out there. Besides, collaborating with established companies potentially opens doors to new opportunities during your studies, for example when writing your final thesis or looking for a student assistant job.

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!