Karlsruhe Platform Innovation Lab of the Faculty of Economics successful in the 7th round

In the "Business to Consumer (B2C)" area, the most valuable companies in the world—Google, Amazon, Facebook, Alibaba, and Apple—are all based on a platform business model. Since these are radically different from previous pipeline business models, they pose new challenges for the initiators and the entire economy. The integration of internet technologies into mechatronic system solutions is the next step for Industry 4.0 and has great potential for digital platform business models linked to cyber-physical systems (CPS). It is important for future graduates to understand this logic.

The Karlsruhe Platform Innovation Lab (KaPIL) follows the principles of "action learning" developed and practiced at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In accordance with these principles, which have been successfully integrated into teaching in Cambridge for over twenty years, students learn to apply their skills during their studies. They achieve this by developing their methodological skills and gaining hands-on experience with real, unresolved business problems and challenges from practice.

In the 7th round of the Live Lab, 20 students from the Faculty of Economics at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HKA) under the direction of Prof. Dr. Carsten H. Hahn and his research assistant Patrick Brecht, as well as students from Ansbach University of Applied Sciences in Bavaria under the direction of Prof. Dr. Jonas Härtfelder, initially received theoretical training. Four interdisciplinary teams then demonstrated their knowledge and skills across locations by working on the real platform challenge (simulation, software stack iw.OS) of our project partner IDEALworks (a BMW spin-off). The students were supported by previously trained Innovation Coaches, who were led by Prof. Dr. Carsten H. Hahn and his colleague Johannes Lauer and gained their practical experience by guiding the teams through the innovation process. A big thank you goes to Lukas Diewald and the entire IDEALworks team. This collaboration offered the students a unique opportunity to participate in practical and impactful projects.

Previous project partners in the course: Uhlmann Group (Summer 2020), Andreas STIHL AG (Winter 2020/21), Wind-Turbine GmbH (Summer 2021), ATRUVIA AG (Winter 2021/22), SEW Eurodrive GmbH & Co. KG (Summer 2022), Rosswag GmbH (Winter 2022/23), FLIX(BUS) (Winter 2022/23).