Ideas4Business in Amstetten

From 12 to 14 February, the first “Ideas4Business” hackathon was held in Amstetten. This practice-oriented event offered school students of HAK Amstetten the possibility to actively engage in topical problems of the corporate world.

Ideas4Business is a unique cooperation project between the college of business administration HAK Amstetten, the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, MakerSpace[A] in Amstetten, and regional companies.

Business challenges and opportunities for the future

“The goal is to familiarise school students with practical challenges from the corporate world by letting them work on real-life case examples from the fields of digitalisation, sustainability, human resources management, and marketing. Supported by UAS experts and the MakerSpace[A] infrastructure, the adolescents develop innovative solutions and gain valuable experiences for their professional future”, says HAK Amstetten principal René Bremböck.

“Ideas4Business is not only about knowledge transfer, but it also strengthens the ties between companies, higher education institutions, and schools, thereby actively contributing to the promotion of Amstetten as a business location”, says Head of the Institute of Creative\Media/Technologies Thomas Moser.

Finding Solutions for the Future Together

Günther Sterlike of MakerSpace[A] explains how it all works: “Participants of this co-creation format step into the roles of idea makers and problem solvers for current challenges of the corporate world. Supported by experts from the UAS, they developed innovative approaches to tackling problems of companies to find solutions for pressing issues of today.”

The Ideas4Business hackathon offers young people a unique opportunity to develop entrepreneurial thinking and problem-solving skills in a creative environment designed for practical relevance and future-proof application. 

The hackathon focuses on the topics of sustainability, mobility, digitalisation, communication, social media marketing, and employer branding.

Real-Life Challenges of Regional Companies

This year’s participating partner companies contributed the following topics to Ideas4Business:

• Doka GmbH (Digitalisation in HR)
• Lisec GmbH (Future Competencies in Business Administration)
• Raiffeisenbank Amstetten (Digitalisation of a Drawing Competition)
• City of Amstetten (Sustainable Mobility for School Students)
• voestalpine BÖHLER Profil GmbH (Brand Strategy and Employer Branding)
• Volksbank NÖ AG (Adolescents Selecting a Principal Bank)
• Welser Profile GmbH (Authentically Communicating Sustainability)

Ideas4Business is a three-day event of HAK Amstetten, the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, MakerSpace[A] in Amstetten, and companies of the Mostviertel region. The event is supported by the city of Amstetten, the participating companies, and the Digital Makers Hub, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy within the framework of the FFG programme “Digital Innovation Hubs in Austria”.