The brightest minds from Upper Austria's universities are working on practical “innovation challenges.”

Companies are constantly challenged to remain competitive in the market with innovative products and services. Often, an outside perspective can provide the decisive idea. During Innovation Week, launched by the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria in 2015, master's students from all four schools, as well as from other regional universities, work on real-life tasks set by companies. “Preparing young people for real business practice is a real USP of our university,” says Isolde Perndl, Managing Director of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, summing up the strength of the format. 

The 40 students selected for the program—representing 15 different fields of study—have just wrapped up an intense week in the “innovation hotspot” at Factory 300 in the Tabakfabrik Linz.
Throughout the week, they visited companies, identified user problems, developed ideas, and built prototypes that the partner companies can now continue to refine. Six real-world challenges met six interdisciplinary student teams, supported throughout the process by experienced coaches who stepped in whenever needed.

Students challenge tech companies

Julian Bauer, Head of Innovation at tech company KEBA AG, describes “these fresh impulses from young talents with diverse cultural and academic backgrounds” as incredibly valuable for his organization. Within just one week, he says, the teams generate tangible ideas and new ways of thinking that have both inspired and “challenged” KEBA in recent years. “That fits perfectly,” Bauer adds, “with our open innovation approach.”

Expert convinced: Innovation needs interdisciplinary approaches

The Innovation Week is coordinated by FH Professor Daniela Freudenthaler-Mayerhofer from the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Campus Steyr. She is convinced that innovation works best in interdisciplinary teams — that’s where truly future-proof solutions emerge.
“The variety of perspectives, the open exploration of topics, the constructive team discussions, and the ability to deal with uncertainty are key elements of any creative process. You can only understand that by experiencing it yourself,” she emphasizes.

Student motivation drives the success

A major reason Freudenthaler-Mayerhofer has continued to support the constantly growing “Innovation Week” — now in its eleventh edition — is the enthusiasm of the students.
“Spending a whole week working on the challenges faced by working parents for Caritas was genuinely exciting. We got to work on a real problem that might affect us later in life. The week was intense, and the collaboration within our interdisciplinary group was incredibly enriching,” says Christian Zillig, a Supply Chain Management student at the FH Upper Austria in Steyr.
A similar view is shared by Samuel Weissenbacher, a student of Embedded Systems Design at Campus Hagenberg:
“As engineers, we tend to jump straight into solutions and don’t spend enough time exploring the actual problem. The interaction with users here is extremely valuable. Plus, we get to step outside our own bubble and dive into a deep exchange with other disciplines.”

KU and the University of Art also convinced by the joint format

What do the universities partnering in the “Innovation Week” say?
“Transformation only works when different perspectives come together across boundaries. That’s exactly what students experience here — gaining valuable insights into how we can shape the future together,” says Patricia Stark, Deputy Director of the Linz Institute for Transformative Change (LIFT_C) at Johannes Kepler University Linz.

The University of Art and Design Linz participates with students from Architecture, Industrial Design, and Communication Design.
“Young artists and designers can showcase their creative potential and design expertise to a broad audience. Developing innovative products with a focus on people, technology, and societal trends also opens doors to collaborative projects with business and industry,” says Vice Rector Andre Zogholy.

(AI-generated translation)