On July 3, 2024, we had the pleasure of hosting a guest lecture by Felix Nehring on the topic "Learn, Build, Measure, Repeat - Insights into the Market Entry of Digital Products" as part of our bachelor's course "Digital Innovation: From Idea to Impact."

Felix provided us with fascinating insights into his work as a Full-Stack Product Owner in startups, highlighting the challenges of the "Just Do It" approach compared to traditional product development methods. He introduced several key concepts, including the Product Life Cycle, the Value Chain, and the Golden Circle, which is also widely used in marketing. Particularly interesting for the students were the examples of value creation from companies like VW and Airbnb. The presentation of the pitch deck offered valuable inspiration for their own projects.

The lively discussion at the end provided a fitting and memorable conclusion to the lecture.

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting a guest lecture by the amazing Susanne Krehl. As we had come to expect from her previous guest lectures, she shared her extensive experience in founding fintech startups with great enthusiasm, expertise, and openness.

Additionally, we concluded our "Create Your Tech Startup" class for the Summer Semester 2024 with the final pitches. It was exciting to see the student groups creatively present their startup ideas. They didn't just outline the problem and solution, but also included slogans, personas, market and competitor analyses, prototypes, traction, financials, or team compositions. This event was a perfect finale to the course, and we are already looking forward to the next pitches in future classes.

Once again, we had the pleasure of hosting a guest lecture within the framework of the bachelor course "Digital Innovation: From Idea to Impact." On May 8, 2024, Luisa Katzenberger brought the concepts discussed in previous sessions closer to us through her own experience and expertise. She provided exciting insights into the ongoing development of ideas in her startups and the resulting value creation. "Create value or die" was the motto here.

Furthermore, she shared useful methodologies to make work processes not only more efficient but also more promising. Among other things, AI-supported task delegation and finding and working with the right people are well received by the already interested students. Collaboration is the modern competition, and Ms. Katzenberger demonstrated how resources can be effectively outsourced to focus on the core competencies of one's own team. Based on her experiences, she explained how emerging problems can be cleverly utilized to create new innovations.

However, what is essential for success, she says, is not only to know the adaptation curve but also to build a community with a customer-centric perspective, which should help us better understand the real requirements of the product and thus generate a direct customer connection.

The students asked various questions, making for an exciting exchange. We warmly thank Ms. Luisa Katzenberger for her time and insights into the industry. We hope to welcome her back as a guest speaker soon.

Our chair's undergraduate seminar "Digital Innovations" closed a successful chapter on July 24 and 25, 2023! Our 20 dedicated students took us on a journey through the digital landscapes of virtual reality, augmented reality, online streaming, artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, and other digital innovations.

Each student wrote an in-depth seminar paper on a topic of digital innovation, mastering both the technique of academic writing and the need for extensive literature research. Our students not only produced papers, but also brought them to life in compelling 10-minute presentations.

The presentations were rich with interesting and critical insights into the impact of digital innovation on our lives. They reflected carefully on the course content, what they had learned, and how they could put their knowledge into practice. An important takeaway from the course was the responsible use of AI tools like ChatGPT and the importance of not blindly trusting them.

At the end of this fruitful event, we all enjoyed a hearty lunch of pizza and homemade food together - because nothing brings people together more than sharing ideas and food!

We are very proud of our students and look forward to watching them apply their newly acquired knowledge as they continue their studies. Congratulations to all for their hard work and dedication!

#DigitalInnovation #BachelorSeminar #ArtificialIntelligence #ScientificWork

Throughout the course, our Master students in Artificial Intelligence & Data Science as well as Computer Science, embarked on a transformative experience that immersed them in the world of tech startups, covering every crucial aspect of the entrepreneurial process. From generating innovative tech ideas to developing robust business models, conducting customer discovery, building prototypes, mastering investor pitches, and crafting comprehensive business plans, these students embraced the challenge with unwavering dedication and enthusiasm. Their passion, determination, and eagerness to learn were truly inspiring, creating an atmosphere of growth and innovation.

To make the closing even more memorable, we held our final investor pitch presentations in the innovation lab at Werft01 at the University of Düsseldorf. This inspiring room served as the perfect backdrop, sparking creativity and propelling our students to showcase their innovative ideas with passion and conviction. Following the presentations, we concluded the course with a joint lunch where everyone contributed something special to eat, celebrating the diversity of our international cohort.

We would like to congratulate the students of "Create your Tech Startup" on completing this milestone and we wish you all the best as you embark on the next chapter of your entrepreneurial journeys.

#TechStartupCourse #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Werft01 

On May 17, 2023, we had the pleasure of listening to an exciting and educational guest lecture by Dr. Martin Allmendinger in our lecture "Digital Innovation: From Idea to Impact". Dr. Martin Allmendinger is co-founder and managing partner of OMM Solutions GmbH, a company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make German medium-sized businesses fit for the digital world.

He spoke with us about his personal experiences as an entrepreneur and his work at OMM Solutions. He told us how he discovered and realized his passion and self-efficacy for digital innovation. Additionally, he gave us a glimpse into the Legal AI Network, an organic innovation economy he built with OMM Solutions. He then talked about the concept of efficient entrepreneurship and the key factors for a successful startup, such as timing, team, and trust.

He also showed us how OMM Solutions helps mid-sized companies grow by applying a multi-dimensional approach of automation, innovation, and technology to implement modern business models like servitization.

The students were very interested and asked Dr. Martin Allmendinger many questions. A constructive and fruitful discussion resulted, which gave us many new impulses.

We kindly thank Dr. Martin Allmendinger for his time and hope to welcome him again as a guest speaker soon.