Find Solutions to Present Societal Challenges!

In the iLab, you are part of a human-centred design process.

In this process, you go through multiple iterations. The objective is to

1. explore and identify the true causes of these challenges as well as the needs of the affected persons.
2. develop a needs-oriented solution that generates added value for the users.

Two Gates on the Path towards the Solution

You have to pass two gates in the process. Within the framework of these decision-making situations, the teams present their developed solution ideas and prototypes to a jury made up of experts from various professional fields. The jury members give constructive feedback that helps you to further develop your solution or to rethink your approaches.

These gates decide which teams and challenges get to advance in their process, and which projects are discontinued and the students previously working on them assigned to the remaining teams. After each gate (1 & 2), new teams are formed and the participants continue to work on their challenges in these new constellations.

(Further) development of subject-specific competencies and soft skills

The iLab promotes your independence and self-management. In individual coaching sessions, work and reflect on your personal learning goals.

In heterogeneous settings and with alternating groups of persons, you train your conversation skills and reflectivity through reflective dialogues. In this context, you work on a Learning Blog that stays with you for the entire semester and that you use for highlighting both project-related and individual challenges and possible solutions in the peer setting in order to learn from them.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

In the iLab, you learn

• how interdisciplinary collaboration offers added value,
• how you can design this collaboration in a positive way,
• and how you can profit from one another.

This is why a key focus of the iLab is on the team context. The composition of the teams is changed deliberately (after each decision gate) in order to allow the student to repeatedly go through the various team development stages. Particularly when teams are newly formed, team building measures (for example, out of doors) and tutoring are offered to help you adjust. Later in the process, feedback and coaching talks give you the opportunity to reflect on your work and find solutions to challenging situations.

Solutions to Current Challenges

To take complex challenges relevant for society and match them with feasible solution approaches, the iLab works with design thinking methods at the project level. It is kicked off with a three-day bootcamp where the students are introduced to the design thinking process and put the manifold creative methods directly into practice.

Coaches from the different departments offer support. Complemented by a two-day business design bootcamp as well as pitching and storytelling sessions, you are accompanied throughout the entire process from design to implementation in an ideal manner.

Which competencies and skills do future university graduates need for professions that do not even exist yet?
The term “future skills” refers to abilities that allow graduates of higher education to meet the challenges of the future with the best possible preparation. Within the framework of the iLab, we teach and promote these future skills in an integrative manner and with practical relevance at all three levels.

i as in interdisciplinary…

For our incoming student Orin, it was particularly important to see how a team including so many different skillsets can be coordinated and the skills put to good use.

In the podcast, the social worker from Antwerp talks about her experiences within the framework of the project work and gives insights into the “Green Den” project that she and her group developed together in line with the “United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals”.

Podcast on the iLab or "Bootcamp for pioneers" – go to story

Copyright: Orin D’Hauwer, St. Pölten UAS

Understanding the Consequences of Bullying

“We have developed a video game that uses a playful approach to help young people understand the implications of bullying”, explains Sara Velasco Basurto. The team with their diverse professional and national backgrounds developed the video game over the project term of one semester.

“The iLab was very much like working in an international company with all the different cultural backgrounds. I learned a lot about myself and was able to improve my soft skills in addition to my specialist field”, says the product designer.

• Read the article in the online magazine: "When you live abroad, everything is new"
• Listen to the podcast: "How to enjoy a semester abroad despite Corona"

Group photo of Incoming Students | Copyright: Anet Chladkova

Real-World Solutions for Real-World Problems

„By walking, running, or cycling in and around St. Pölten, users can collect points that they can use to get discounts in all participating shops. In this way, we create a win-win situation for individuals and small businesses that depend on walk-in customers”, explains marketing and communications expert Martin Kazík.

Read the iLab Story: „A Brilliant Idea“

Copyright: Laura Breban

Personal Level

Katharina Auer-Voigtländer is a Researcher at the Ilse Arlt Institute for Social Inclusion Research of the Department of Social Sciences. Within the framework of the iLab, she has main responsibility for the personal level.

“The iLab is a unique opportunity to gather new experiences ‘out of the box’. What I find special about the iLab is the safe space for teaching and learning which the concept offers and which gives both students and teachers possibilities for creative and unconventional thinking and working, while at the same time being open for experimenting, exploring, and discovering new things.”

Project Level

Doris Kantauer is Advisor to the Executive Board in matters of digitalisation. Her main responsibility in the iLab is for the project level.

“Thanks to the challenge-based learning approach, the iLab facilitates a unique learning experience that many iLab students have referred to as transformative. For me personally, it is a privilege and very fulfilling to accompany students with various backgrounds on their learning journey and the development of future skills.”

Team Level & Administration

Christina Tanzer is Section Head for UAS-Wide Offers for Students and, within the framework of the iLab, mainly responsible for the team level.

“The iLab opens up the students’ horizon and gives them a new perspective on their own discipline at the same time. It is a unique opportunity for them to recognise the value of their own contribution, to integrate the know-how of the individual team members, and to develop creative approaches to solutions together. From day one, teamwork in all its aspects is the key.”

The prerequisite: You must be a bachelor or master degree student of the St. Pölten UAS. In this case, you can choose the iLab instead of a regular semester from the 3rd semester onwards.

Your study programme team is happy to provide you with the details.

Here you can find details regarding a study semester or academic year at the St. Pölten UAS.