C3L explains how students work together with companies to develop innovative solutions.board member Prof Dr Klaus Fichter
Mr Fichter, you are one of the pioneers of Challenge Based Learning (CBL). What does this mean?
Prof Dr Klaus Fichter: It is a teaching and learning method that is based on real challenges or problems and gives students the opportunity to develop innovative solutions together with practice partners. The approach promotes the acquisition of strategic competences and increases students' knowledge of social challenges. At the same time, co-operation with actors from business and society can be practised. The individual elements of the CBL are not new, but their combination is. The University of Oldenburg is one of the pioneers of the method. In the "Sustainable Venturing" module led by my colleague Alexander Nicolai and myself, students work in interdisciplinary groups with practice partners to develop sustainability-oriented solutions for real entrepreneurial challenges.
What are the benefits for students and partners?
The evaluation of this co-innovation approach shows high learning effects for students and positive innovation effects for practice partners. In comparison with conventional teaching methods, students deal with real, current challenges in challenge-based learning. This makes the learning process more relevant and authentic. They can put what they have learnt directly into practice and are in close contact with the practice partner. At the same time, CBL promotes critical thinking and the ability to work in a team, as students in interdisciplinary teams have to take different aspects and perspectives into account.
Can you give us an example from practice?
I'll pick out two examples to show the range of co-operations from listed companies to start-ups. The photo service provider CEWE Group has been our practice partner for many years. On one occasion, we worked on the question of how sustainable photo products can be developed. The ideas ranged from a printed mobile phone cover made from ocean plastic, i.e. plastic waste fished out of the sea, to a photo diary as an app and other digital products. Another challenge considered developing a circular model for old photo prints. For example, could a take-back system be introduced for old photos from household liquidations and a business model developed from this? The recommendations developed are being incorporated into CEWE's product developments and have already been implemented in part.
What are the results of the second example?
The start-up eco:fibr GmbH was developed from the founders' studies at the University of Hanover and the challenge served to develop a viable business model. The company has developed a process that utilises waste products from pineapple cultivation. The fibres and leaves, which are currently incinerated unused, can be used to produce pulp that can be used by the paper industry, for example. Importing the pineapple leaves and processing them here in Germany would make neither economic nor ecological sense. The task for the students at the University of Oldenburg was therefore to develop a business model in which the pulp could be produced and sold in the growing countries themselves. The students made contact with growers in Latin America and conducted interviews. A licensing model was developed with lawyers. The result now enables the start-up to offer the paper and cardboard industry a sustainable alternative to conventional wood pulp.
How do the practice partners benefit?
By integrating challenge-based learning into the learning process, the companies can develop innovative and interdisciplinary solutions to their challenges. They do not have to pay anything to participate, but they agree to be available to the student team as a contact person during a module. The students are also given access to internal data and contacts on the basis of a confidentiality agreement so that they can develop innovative solutions under real conditions. The practice partners receive specific recommendations for action that support and accelerate the innovation process. They also report positive effects, such as the strengthening of the innovation culture in the company, improved team cohesion and the promotion of key employee skills.
Klaus Fichter is Professor of Innovation Management and Sustainability at the University of Oldenburg and Director of the Borderstep Institute for Innovation and Sustainability in Berlin. On the Board of Directors of the C3L - Center for Lifelong Learning, he is responsible for co-operation, transfer and innovation and is the academic director of the part-time Master's degree course in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship, while on the undergraduate Master's degree course in Sustainability Economics and Management he is responsible for Sustainable Innovation, Digitalisation and Entrepreneurship. The "Sustainable Venturing" study module, which he played a key role in developing, was awarded the Hans Sauer Prize in the "Promotion of Environmental Innovations" competition.
Contact
Christina Meyer-Truelsen, Dipl.-Oec. (C3L), T +49(0)441 798-3111, E