In groups of 3-5 students the participants will face the challenges that South Tyrolean companies are proposing within the circular economy field. The Free University of Bozen-Bolzano will form interdisciplinary teams that shall work on the selected challenge for 5 days under the mentorship of experts and scientists, based on the Google Design Sprint Methodology, and propose solutions.

The three challenges selected for the 2021-2022 Edition are focused on: developing solutions/products based on apple pomace; generating a solution to support building contractors and buyers in the construction of circular buildings; and designing a concept to rethink the canteen experience in a circular perspective.

Now in November Bachelor and Master students are invited to apply, and a committee of experts will choose a pool of 36 students to get started for the February challenge. The Students & Company Sprint addresses unibz students from all 5 faculties: Economics and Management, Computer Science, Design and Art, Education and Science and Technology.

Please read more on the dedicated website and fill out your application form: give a short motivation statement (up to 150 words), talk about your background, your experiences and fields of expertise so the jury can arrange the teams at its best. Students from the Faculty of Design and Art could also submit a portfolio of 2-3 projects representing their design skills and interests.

Students will benefit from taking part to the Sprint in many ways: learning how to work with Google Design Sprint Methodology; thriving within interdisciplinary teams; they come to know a mentorship from qualified design thinking facilitators, innovation experts and researchers, working on real business challenges, developing presentation skills, pitches and soft skills (critical thinking, group work, communication); during the week they might also learn how to use the rapid prototyping tools of the NOI Maker Space and the Free Software Lab. And in the end, they will have the chance to obtain an award, if their idea is selected by the jury.

The selection committee consists of five unibz professors and one NOI Innovation Management expert. They will select the participants based on the following three criteria: (1) competencies and experiences (needed to successfully address the selected challenge); (2) motivation; and (3) average mark. Send in your application within 30 November 2021 directly on the webpage.

Any questions? Please write to sprint@noi.bz.it or contact the faculty representatives of the Sprint: Prof. Guido Orzes (Faculty of Science and Technology), Prof. Alessandro Narduzzo (Economics and Management), Prof. Xiaofeng Wang (Computer Science), Prof. Ugur Yavuz Secil (Design and Art) and Dr. Daniele Morselli (Education).
(vic)