IMPORTANT: This lecture is only for students assigned to the supplementary curriculum "Extended Study on Innovation" offered by the Innovation Incubation Center (i²c)! For further information, please visit our website.
***Content description***
Innovation Project 1+2 - General Content:
The "Innovation Project" of the Extended Study on Innovation will focus on implementing the lessons learned from the other lectures. Students of the curriculum will work on a concrete innovation project in order to consolidate and strengthen the innovation knowledge in a real innovation case. The lecture starts in the winter semester with "Innovation Project 1" and concludes in the summer semester with "Innovation Project 2".
The following topics will be covered:
- Design Thinking
- Competition & Market Analysis
- Idea Presentation
- Branding
- Lean Canvas
- Business Prototyping
- No-code
- Business Storytelling
- Introduction to Pitching
- Milestone-presentations: First Milestone (Problem, Solution, Problem-Solution-Fit, First Prototype, Competition and Market Analysis, Business Model, Finance Plan), Go-to-Market Strategy, Extended Pitch-deck, 3-min.-pitch
- Demo Day
Innovation Project 1+2 – Format of Course:
The course consists of input- and mentoring-sessions as well as milestone presentations:
- In the input- and mentoring-sessions on specific topics, experienced mentors support the students in implementing the theory learned in their individual innovative projects.
- In the milestone presentations, students will present specified aspects of their project to the other students and to some mentors, who will offer feedback and help them to improve and adapt by asking critical questions.
The Extended Study on Innovation will conclude with the Diploma Demo Day, where the students pitch their innovation projects to a jury of potential investors. The best projects will be awarded special prizes (e.g. acceptance into the TUW i2ncubator program or a place in the co-working space Founder Space).
Innovation Project 1 – Detailed Content
- Design Thinking Workshop
- Competition & Market Analysis Workshop
- Idea Presentation
- Branding Workshop
- Lean Canvas Workshop
- Business Prototyping Workshop
- No-Code Workshop
- Introduction to Pitching
- 1st Milestone-presentation + feedback: Problem, Solution, Validation, Prototype, Business Model, Competition & Market Analysis, Finance Plan)
1. Design Thinking Workshop (lecturer: Sarah Gilani & Femke Meeuwes)
Schedule:
- Design Thinking in a Nutshell
- The Rules and Phases of Design Thinking
- Design Thinking application in real life
- Design Thinking Hackathon in teams
- Presentation of the results and Q&A
Learnings and Takeaways:
- Basic understanding of the history, philosophy, state of the art, and practical implications of Design Thinking
- Understanding of the 5 Design Thinking Steps that can be applied to any design process
- Being able to apply the learnings on future ideas and projects
2. Competition & Market Analysis Workshop (lecturer: Gertrude Eder)
Purpose of this workshop
Having participated, you will be able to:
- Make strategic decisions about your own business based on sound market intelligence,
- Know how to analyze markets and trends for opportunities (and threats), as well as which segments to target,
- Identify your customers and understand their needs and consumption habits,
- Identify and analyze competitors – what to learn from them and how to differentiate,
- Understand better the role of your solution in the market and what value will it bring.
Market Analysis
- Identification of your most relevant sector
- Techniques to determine your market – its size and potential
- Market segmentation
- Analysis of customers - consumption and buying behaviour
- Measuring market share against competition
- Identifying trends and developments relevant to your segment
Competitive Analysis
- Extracting useful information on competitors – strategies, strengths, weaknesses
- Comparative size and importance of each competitor in your market
- How do competitors operate, which channels do they use and why?
- Market success and what customers think about them.
Techniques to gather market intelligence effectively and efficiently
- Scope your own research
- Consider your information need and the use of different processes
- Plan secondary research – e.g. web search checklist
- Identify sources of information that are relevant for your business
- Methods to find the most relevant people for your business proposition
- Preparation for own primary research – plan interviews and define questions for maximum chance of success
- Ethics in market research
3. Idea Presentation & Discussion (various lecturers & mentors)
Every student who has an innovative idea in mind is invited to present it to the other students. Ideas will be discussed and the first steps for building project teams will be made.
4. Branding Workshop (lecturer: Florian Hämmerle)
Branding is a passive form of communication for a brand. Meaning to display a product idea for e.g. on a website, in a flyer or on social media. The branding prototype is a communication concept for the innovative idea.
Part 1: Brand Positioning & Storytelling
- Terminology: what is a brand?
- Methodology: archetypal branding (based on c.g. jung, m. mark, c. pearson)
- A short overview of how archetypes influence the tonality of communication
- Case story
- Terminology: what is a story?
- Methodology: heroes journey based on joseph campbell / christopher Vogler
- Hands-on: definition of a (simplified) persona as a hero, beginning of a heroes journey
Working Session:
Part 2: Brand Prototype
- how to use the findings of Part 1
- terminology: mockups, wireframes
- methodology: using mindmaps and mental models to plan the goals of your website/channels
- methodology: deducting a sitemap and content map
- methodology: creating wireframes to plan communication
- what is a good logo? how to choose the right colours, develop a pictorial language, means of information design
- case story
Working Session:
Pre-requisites:
- Knowledge about how to define personas from Design Thinking
5. Business Modelling Workshop (lecturers: Alexandra Negoescu)
Content:
This lecture introduces students to a disciplined and rigorous way of vetting new ideas while at the same time tackling both product and market validation through short iterations.
Content:
- Systematically apply the Lean Methodology
- Draft an initial business model and USP
- Build and measure what customers want
- Identify the riskiest parts of your plan
- Systematically test your plan
- Frame growth opportunities
Working Session:
- Business modelling: apply the lean methodology using the lean canvas
- Understanding what customers need: applying a methodology for conducting structured interviews
Prerequisites:
- Market and Competition Analysis
5. Product Lifecycle Management Workshop (lecturers: Alexandra Saliger)
Content:
- Introduction (product models, product development methods, process chains)
- Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) as a strategic approach and PDM as a tool
- PDM basic concepts (metadata approach, object models, structuring)
- Basic technologies for PDMS (databases, client-server architectures)
- General handling and administration functions (e.g. benefits/privileges)
- Product structure and configuration management
- Parts classification and information search
- Workflow and project management
- PLM integration concepts, interfaces
After positive completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Understand PDM basic concepts and functions.
- explain design versioning processes.
- explain a product structure, addressing variants and versions.
- explain and justify the separation between user data and metadata.
- explain the basics of configuration management.
- structure PDM workflows in a meaningful way and implement the use of PDM functions for project management.
- discuss PDM integration concepts and be able to name interfaces.
- to have the necessary theoretical basic knowledge to quickly get started with the practical use of a PDMS.
7. Business Prototyping Workshop (lecturer: Blai Carandell)
Objectives:
- Understand the mindset behind business prototyping
- Get a handle on different tools and techniques
- Gain insight into metrics and KPIs
- Implement learnings in projects
Structure:
Introduction:
- Why business prototyping is the winning strategy
- What we mean by business prototyping
- Case studies and examples of business prototyping
- Tools to launch
Idea “Roast” - applying the methodology to projects
- Identify Leap of Faith Assumptions
- Design Protolog
- Prototyping Roadmap
Time to work on the prototype
Time to review results
- Metrics and KPIs
- Learnings
- Next steps, commitments from teams and debriefing
8. Introduction to No-Code (lecturer: Michael Ionita)
“No-Code means Business” - how you can profit from it!
- Why No-Code is the future for 99,7% of people?
- How did we get here?
- Success stories (FinTech, Medical, Social, etc.)
- What can you do with No-Code? (Tools, Use-cases)
- Is No-Code agile?
- What’s next? How will it all evolve?
The session will end with a special Group Q&A, where each team can ask their specific questions. Everyone listens and helps out, including the lecturer. This part of the workshops is meant to give students maximum value for their project, and hard facts that apply to them.
9. Pitching (lecturer: Daniel Cronin)
What makes a pitch a ‘perfect pitch'? Get to know the success factors of a great pitch. Get insights about how to implement a captive story in your pitch. Learn the techniques from the ‘Pitch-Professor’ himself.
Part 1: Introduction & Project Oneliner
- Essentials of a pitch
- Storytelling technique and relevant parts for a pitch
- Feedback for innovation project one-liner
- Elements of a pitch
Preparation:
- Submit a one-liner and a short description of the innovation project
Part 2: 1-1 Pitch Training Session
- Present your pitch
- Get individual feedback
10. 1st Milestone Presentation - Project
At the end of the first semester, you will present the current status of your project in the first milestone presentation in front of your colleagues and a jury of mentors, who will both offer feedback.
Presentation Topics: Problem, Solution, Problem-Solution-Fit, First Prototype, Competition and Market Analysis, Business Model, Finance Plan
***Lecturers & Mentors***
Sarah Tariq Gilani is Project Management and Communications Specialist at alchemia-nova, an institute for circular economy and nature-based solutions located in Vienna. She holds a Master's degree in Socio-Ecological Economics and policy from WU and brings over eight years of experience with impact-driven organizations in Austria and Pakistan. Her expertise spans community building, startup accelerator management, business development, operational streamlining, content and design strategy, as well as the development of training programs.
Femke Meeuwes is EU project manager and communications specialist at alchemia-nova, institute for circular economy and nature-based solutions, based in Vienna. She is a Corporate Communications (MSc) graduate from the University of Amsterdam and an almost Green Marketing (MA) graduate from the FH Wiener Neustadt. In Vienna she worked for several NGO´s in the field of entrepreneurship and sustainable development. Contributing to circular, sustainable design is her passion.
Gertrude Eder is an experienced Managing Director with a demonstrated history of working in the international trade and development industry. She is skilled in Negotiation, Business Planning, International Business, Sales Management, and Strategic Marketing. After having accumulated a lot of experience in the paper industry, she is now sharing her strong business development insights with the students and the world as a lecturer, mentor and speaker.
Florian Hämmerle studied Intermedia Design in Vorarlberg, and worked as a marketer, illustrator and brand designer for various agencies in Vorarlberg, Tirol and Vienna. Tired of constraining job definitions he turned his versatility into business and founded Hämmerle & Luger together with the graphic designer Vinzenz Luger. The branding studio works with agile teams, its size adapts to the challenge given and is driven by a simple cause: to make branding accessible to everyone.
Alexandra Negoescu holds a degree in computer science and E-Business. Her deep understanding of new technologies can assess both the technical and business value of new opportunities. Over the past years working at the TU Wien Innovation Incubation Center, she has been focusing extensively on helping TU Wien scientists assess the business potential of their research projects and, through the TUW i²ncubator incubation program, bring their research from the lab to society.
Alexandra Saliger holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from TU Wien, where she honed her skills and knowledge in the intricacies of mechanical systems. Following her studies, she ventured into the private sector, specializing in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). Through this role, she contributed to optimizing product development processes and fostering efficient collaboration among interdisciplinary teams. Her experiences in the corporate world empowered her with practical insights into how engineering principles integrate with real-world challenges. Passionate about the academic realm, she also embarked on a journey as an assistant at the university. This role allowed her to engage with students, support professors in their research, and stay connected with the latest advancements in the field.
Blai Carandell Saladich is partner at NOBA, an innovation agency that supports corporates and entrepreneurs in launching new products, services and business models through business prototyping. The company is responsible for launching and managing in a wide array of industries and countries, with clients such as Nestlé, Danone, Boehringer Ingelheim, Suez and Generali. He was previously CEO at Ôasys, an IOT startup invested by Suez. Additionally, he has taught at business schools such as ESADE and EADA.
Michael Ionita is an entrepreneur with a tech/developer background, with more than 15 years of experience in building and leading successful software teams. He is an expert in No-Code and blockchain development.
Daniel Cronin is a passionate marketer and public speaker. He studied at the Vienna University of Economics and Business where he qualified with a Masters in Economics & Social Science. He wrote his thesis on Mobile Marketing and in 2011 became a founding member of the full-service app-agency "all about apps", where he was Head of Marketing. Daniel is Co-Founder and Member of the Board of AustrianStartups and lectures Mobile Business and Marketing at the University of Applied Sciences in Hagenberg. He presented the show "2Minuten, 2Millionen", the PULS4 Startup-Show on national TV. Daniel has also hosted many events and panels including, Startup Week, Pioneers Festival as well as the World Business Dialogue and the EBAN Annual Congress.
Voraussetzung für die Anmeldung ist eine Fortmeldung zu einem der folgenden Studien:
