Unlike traditional innovation formats, this year the teams brought their own ideas with them. These were consistently dissected, questioned and further developed under the guiding theme of "A Healthy Future". The program followed a clear rhythm: Set up hypotheses, go out, test, come back, rethink.
That sounds easier than it was. Many teams had to discard their basic assumptions early on. Some threw their basic idea overboard several times, some just before the final pitches. One participant described the learning experience of the week as succinctly as it was apt: "Start. Refine. Repeat."
What particularly characterized the week was the consistent step out of the building. Teams spoke to passers-by, gyms, health professionals and random people in the park - and came back with real insights.
"The highlight of my day was having our idea validated by people who actively struggle with the problem we want to solve - and hearing their excitement about the product."
Another group reported having spontaneously found a job offer and a potential partnership during one of these discussions.
In addition to the content-related work, the team dynamics were a challenge in their own right. "Dealing with team dynamics is harder than finding a business idea or developing one" - as one participant put it in the feedback, reflecting an experience shared by many. Teams that went through crises described the cohesion afterwards all the more clearly: "That when bad things happen it brings the team closer together." And at the end of the week, another participant put it in a nutshell: "A great team makes all the difference."
The final pitches were held on Saturday. What the teams presented was the result of a week of intensive work - and in many cases several discarded approaches. From initial ideas to fully developed concepts with real user feedback - in five days.
For many, it was the most intensive working week of their studies. Some teams are already continuing to work on their ideas.