Catalina Catana developed her innovation project for the Change Maker College: How do we find, attract and source people who aim to make the world a better place. Jeff Wezel explored the the circular energy community in order to come up with an innovation to empower the energy transition by the use of batteries and hydrogen. Tudor Mihai explored sustainable mobility alternatives to reduce traffic congestion for commuting employees (Commut-E).

Vera Habers, Coordinator IBIS Planing&Organisation: "Young business innovators on the move, ready to conquer the world!"

How do you prevent automation leading to conflicts in the workplace? A student team from the international programme Business Innovation (formerly IBIS) at Inholland Diemen won the 24H DAS Innovatie Challenge with their solution to this case study. DAS, a company that offers legal and financial services, organised the 24-hour hackathon to illustrate that young people are better able than anyone to look at the future through an innovative lens.

The participants were all challenged to come up with an innovative concept that contributes to creating a world without legal conflicts and financial worries. In total, some 55 students – including two teams from Business Innovation – and young DAS employees worked on creative solutions.

The winning team – which won a prize cheque worth 2,500 euros – focused on the case study entitled ‘A world without legal conflicts’. Based on a future societal scenario in which robots take over our jobs, the group worked to come up with a solution to prevent labour conflicts.

Career insurance
'Our solution focuses on providing assistance during the transition period from partial automation to full automation', team captain Anuschka Ried explains. 'Companies pay DAS a subscription fee per employee, in exchange for which DAS provides insurance for the employee’s career once they lose their job as a result of automation. At that point, DAS finds a similar position at another company in its network, while the employee continue to receive their salary'.

Getting a feel for lucrative ideas
It was a particularly instructive challenge for the students that participated. Anuschka: 'I learned how to maximise productivity under pressure and how to get a feel for developing lucrative ideas'. 'The most important thing I learned from this challenge is that the knowledge and skills that I gain during my studies are relevant in the real world and can bring about change', her teammate Tim Apthorp adds. 'I find that very motivating'.

Source: Baaz, entrepreneur publication, December 2017