Successful completion of the course

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The International Virtual Innovation Challenge is a special edition of the Real Projects course format, which was offered for the first time in the winter semester 2020/21 as part of the "GlobalXChanges/Challenges (GXC)" project. In the virtual course format, HM students work together with international students from partner universities in interdisciplinary teams to develop ideas, concepts and prototypes for problems (challenges) that are previously named as topics from the public sector. For example, the Department of Labor and Economy of the City of Munich asked how municipalities can motivate local companies to protect the climate in times of crisis. The German Ski Association (DSV) posed the challenge of how the association can engage ski enthusiasts in an active and interconnected skiing community and the Munich City District Youth Association wants to strengthen youth participation.

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Video lectures, weekly live sessions and individual team coaching accompanied the 41 students from ten countries during their project work for ten weeks. They not only had to deal with topics such as innovation processes, digitalization and prototype development, but also master teamwork at a distance and across different time zones.

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The participants presented their final results to the challenge givers at the beginning of December.

Final presentations to challenge givers

In early December, students presented their final results to the challenge givers: Solutions like green office spaces for improved air quality, a Fantasy Winter Sports League app, or a community app for youth were very well received by the challenge givers. "Thank you so much for all these great ideas, which are very valuable to us. We had an incredible amount of fun and will definitely work towards our next challenge," they concluded. During the International Virtual Innovation Challenge, students were able to learn about new topics and deepen their soft skills. "I had the opportunity to build my intercultural communication skills. This is beneficial for me as I am interested in doing an internship abroad or working abroad for some time," said one of the student participants.

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Next round

Due to the positive feedback, a second round of the project will start soon. More information and the opportunity to apply is available on the GXC International Virtual Innovation Challenge website.

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The "GlobalXChanges/Challenges (GXC)" project is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service with funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.