Tanja Rüter is a Sustainability & ESG Consultant and former student in the Master’s programme in Sustainability Economics and Management at the University of Oldenburg in Germany. Last year, she participated in the challenge-based ‘Sustainable Venturing’ module which was organised as part of the ScaleUp4Sustainability project. We spoke to Tanja Rüter 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?

Tanja Rüter: I was looking for a final elective module to take in my master’s programme when I came across the ‘Sustainable Venturing’ module. The module appealed to me right away because of its practice-oriented approach. It offers students the opportunity to work together with businesses on the sustainability of their business models. While I had already become familiar with other hands-on learning formats during my studies, I found it exciting to participate in a challenge-based course over a longer period of time – in this case more than four months. Besides, I liked the course’s thematic focus. Sustainable entrepreneurship is more relevant than ever – so I signed up!

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

Tanja Rüter: At the beginning of the module, we were tasked with analysing and readjusting CHEERZ’s existing business model, taking sustainability criteria into account. The challenge was formulated by the photo printing company CHEERZ, a French subsidiary of CEWE – Europe’s largest photo service provider, together with the lecturers at the University of Oldenburg.

My team started by analysing the company’s existing business model using the Sustainable Business Model Canvas. We went on to apply the lead user method which aims to integrate the customer perspective into innovation processes from the onset. Here, the focus is primarily on customers who are considered advanced users. It’s a very comprehensive method, so we decided to simplify it a little for the purpose of the task.

Once we had identified some lead users, we invited them to a digital workshop format we developed. The workshop served to engage the lead users in brainstorming and generating customer-focused solutions. We used Miro, an online tool that facilitates creative collaboration. Here, we also provided the lead users with input on the topic of sustainability.

The next step was to evaluate the many ideas generated during the workshops. We used another great tool – the innovation radar – to analyse the ideas in terms of sustainability and other criteria. This helped us to identify the best ideas based on which we eventually developed a sustainability-oriented business concept. We proposed the app “Preserving Memories” whose essence was to help anchor collective memory. The idea was to enable individuals but also organisations, such as history institutes or city marketing departments, to create digital city tours featuring their personal stories and experiences, as well as photos and 360-degree videos. In this way, the app would contribute to strengthening a culture of urban memory.

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

Tanja Rüter: What I thought was really enriching was that we got to know and work with so many different methods and tools! I learnt a lot about how to develop sustainable business ideas and models, and I was able to further expand my knowledge of tools I already knew. For instance, I really enjoyed using the lead-user method, because you also got to work in a creative way here.

I also liked the challenge process itself and the way it unfolded. Looking back, at the beginning of the challenge my team was faced with so many different ideas, tools and methods. There were so many possible paths to take. We were super proud when towards the end, we were able to develop one “out of the box” sustainable business model.

Our different study backgrounds certainly helped us to bring diverse perspectives to the table and to think much further. For example, one of our team members had a background in tourism which helped us advance our idea, while others brought in their knowledge of management and sustainability. Of course, we also benefited from the academic staff’s support. They provided us with a lot of interesting impulses which helped us find our direction.

“What I found remarkable was the relentless support we received from the company. You could tell that they were truly interested in our fresh insights and approaches to solving their challenge. The regular exchange with the company also helped me hone my professional communication skills which are crucial for interacting effectively in business-related settings.” – Tanja Rüter

Was there a special highlight for you?

Tanja Rüter: My highlight was the super rewarding teamwork together with the other students. At the end of the module, I was very proud that despite initial uncertainties about how to approach the challenge, together we asked the right questions and managed to work our way towards a sustainable business concept. Of course, I was also happy about the excellent grade we received for our business idea and thus the recognition for our hard work.

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

Tanja Rüter: I definitely recommend the ‘Sustainable Venturing’ module, especially to students who are interested in eco-entrepreneurship. It’s a great opportunity to acquire skills in ideation and develop your ideas into innovative green solutions that address real issues faced by companies. As a student, you take a lot of important learnings with you from the interaction with your challenge provider. These are valuable insights that can truly benefit the rest of your studies.

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

Hanna: I was encouraged by one of my supervisors to join the Circular Challenge to expand my sustainable venturing skills. I decided to sign up, as I’m always up for these kinds of extra-curricular activities – they are both fun and you get to learn a lot!

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

Hanna: The challenge was kicked off with introductions by the companies we were going to work with. They introduced their circular economy strategies and the challenges they were facing. It became evident that all three companies were at different stages of transitioning towards circular economy. Our challenge provider was CEWE, a photographic processing company from Germany and actually the leading company in this field in Europe. They tasked us with developing an innovative idea for photo recycling.

Over two days, my group developed the idea to update CEWE’s instant photo printing machines that are set up in drug stores across the country with an integrated recycling module. This new function would allow customers to instantly return photos that they didn’t like or that didn’t turn out well, and receive a store discount. This would allow CEWE to increase their photo recycling rate.

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

Hanna: My experience was a really rewarding one. What I enjoyed most was getting to know the company perspective. Taking part in this challenge offered me the opportunity to learn about the challenges and specific problems companies from different sectors face. As students, we oftentimes have a very different perspective, so this experience enabled me to open up to the company perspective and understand much better why companies set the priorities they do in certain areas. In my case, coming from engineering, I also enjoyed getting to know and learn from companies I wouldn’t usually meet with.

All in all, it was great to interact directly with the company employees and discuss our ideas with them. One big learning I take from these discussions and the feedback we received is that it is highly important to integrate your stakeholders at all times. This is something we didn’t consider much during the challenge, but which is important when developing new business ideas and models.

“Our different student backgrounds definetely contributed to the fact that we were able to forge an innovative idea in just under two days.” – Hanna Zanatta

The challenge spanned two days, which I thought was ideal – short enough to keep the competitive character and drive creativity in a high-pressure environment, but with more time for learning and reflection. I had participated in other challenges before, which only lasted a few hours. In comparison to these shorter challenges, the students had time to get to know each other well, which helped us feel more comfortable around each other and express our opinions freely. This way, we could dive much deeper into the challenge provided to us. Of course, this also left much more room for discussion with the company representatives as well as the academic staff involved, which was great.

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

Hanna: I highly recommend this course to other students, especially if they are up for an extra-curricular activity where they get to learn about the real-life challenges the corporate world is facing today. It’s also a great opportunity to get to know companies outside of your field of study which can really broaden your horizon and even help you discover new areas of interest!