Smart University – Strategies Towards Innovation and Entrepreneurial Spirit: International Week 2020
29 January, 2020
Under the premise of interplay between innovation, entrepreneurship, and the developments in (international) education, 35 guests from partner institutions of the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien gathered in Vienna to look at the week’s topic from an interdisciplinary point of view.
Smart University – Strategies Towards Innovation and Entrepreneurial Spirit is the fifth international week hosted at UAS Technikum Wien from January 20 to 23, 2020.
Three main topics set the frame for the upcoming days already on Monday. Thomas Faast, head of Marketing & Communications at UAS Technikum Wien led the first discussion together with Barbara Sladek, co-founder of myBioma, and Peter Tschuchnig, Startup consultant at INiTS Incubator on how to develop an entrepreneurial spirit among engineering students.
Stefan Litzenberger, head of UAS Technikum Wien’s Bachelor’s programme Human Factors and Sports Engineering then welcomed Marcus Ihlenfeld, founder and CEO of WOOM Bikes, and Andrey Koptyug (Mid Sweden University) to the stage to talk about Innovation in Sports Engineering – the Human Factor. The thematic conclusion to the first day built the panel on Sustainable Development – the Zero Emission City, discussed by Peter Franz, Simon Schneider (both UASTW), Yuniiang Li (China Three Gorges University), and Michal Masaryk (Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava).
Poster presentations of students’ projects throughout the day brought another perspective to the table and gave students the opportunity to show their findings to an international audience with different academic backgrounds.
Tuesday’s discussions dived into the topic of Technology Meets Education – New Aspects of “Open” University, where concepts of project-based learning and distance learning were presented. The afternoon’s workshop on the University 4.0: How Higher Education Institutions Gain Competitive Advantages in the Digital Age set light on success stories from France to the Russian Federation.
The third day brought the participants to one of Vienna’s more controversial neighbourhoods: A guided tour in the smart city aspern Seestadt in the outskirts of the city was a perfect fit to the context of the international week. Eugene Quinn (space&place) showed the participants around the broad sidewalks, grey buildings and frozen lake, while explaining the city government’s plan for aspern Seestadt’s future and its ever-changing popularity among the Viennese, giving everybody the chance to see and explore for themselves.
The last day was framed by discussions surrounding sustainable development and environmental innovation, highlighting the importance of respecting the environment while striving towards innovation. The farewell dinner brought everyone together at Oktogon am Himmel, giving the participants the chance to connect on a personal level and to already make plans for upcoming joint projects and the next international week at UAS Technikum Wien.
The International Week was certified and conducted as an ÖkoEvent.
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