The Stage For Innovation

Topic: Innovation for Inclusion
How can companies strategically promote inclusion and create real competitive advantages? Exciting input was provided by:
– Stefan Knall (NEBA) – Practical examples of successful inclusion
– Selina (author, 19 years old) – Shared her personal experiences with mental illness
– Thomas Kohler – Presentation of the InnoDays format for creative solutions

An informal breakfast meeting for HR managers from Vorarlberg – networking, discussions, and fresh “summits” enjoyed.

Clemens Piffl, Global Lead of Learning and Innovation Engines at Mastercard, shared valuable insights into decision-making in the innovation process. He emphasized, among other things, the importance of clearly defining success factors and subsequently the problem statement.

Further insights included the fact that differentiating between “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves” is crucial for the success of innovation projects. The more requirements defined in a project, the higher the chance of project failure. Focusing on the most important features is key. And last but not least: Focus on continuity: When a project starts, the team should focus on maintaining momentum or drive.

In his presentation, Florian von Cliqua explained how you can test demand and recognize your market potential with minimal effort – without any major investments.
Using the example of a Vorarlberg technology startup, he explained how you can use lead generation to carry out market tests and make data-based decisions.

Specific methods were discussed in a practical way, individual steps were examined and critically questioned.

The participants got a first insight into the prototypes that were created in three months, they were able to get to know the challenge partners and network with other InnoLab participants. Demo Day was the opportunity for each team to showcase the successes from the intensive months of the program.

Sustainability is no longer a trend, but rather an essential component of (almost) all corporate strategies. But how can green claims – i.e. sustainability promises – be communicated credibly and transparently? With the new EU legal framework, from 2026 general green statements such as “environmentally friendly”, “green”, “climate-friendly”, “eco” or “sustainable” will only be possible with evidence of excellent environmental performance. Green advertising with compensation measures (such as reforestation projects) will be completely banned in relation to products from 2026.

Fearing greenwashing complaints, more and more companies are pursuing a strategy of green hushing and remaining silent about their efforts. Effective sustainability communication can attract talent, build brand trust and increase company value in the long term.

In his keynote speech, Martin Prohaska-Marchried, partner at Taylor Wessing Austria, gave practical insights into what should be taken into account in sustainability communication using examples.

Andrea Sutterlüty, sustainability officer at Haberkorn, shared her experiences on the challenges and opportunities of sustainable corporate communication.

We invited sustainability officers, communications managers, marketing managers and anyone interested to discuss effective sustainability communication together.

Following the lecture, Martin Prohaska-Marchried offered the opportunity for individual discussions to clarify specific questions.

To mark fairkom’s 30th anniversary, an exhibition was held in GRAVITAT, which showcased 30 years of internet history with fairkom.

Together with Empatic, a design agency that helps companies grow by designing and implementing convincing user experiences, various product developments were examined from all perspectives.

The founder of Kopf, Hand und Fuß, Ms. Stefanie Trczinski, shared her experiences in setting up the coworking space “Tuechtig”. Tuechtig brings together people from different backgrounds who value an inclusive working environment and want to advance their projects together or independently, who enjoy diversity and exchange and are looking for a knowledge and work community that is unique in Berlin. Afterwards, Mr. Cong Lu, member of “be able e. V.”, the “MatchMyMaker” project – a platform on which people with disabilities develop innovative aids together with technology enthusiasts.

A usability test dinner was organized in cooperation with the Tyrolean UX design agency “Empatic – The Human Experience Company”. A usability test lunch is characterized by companies presenting products in a personal conversation. The participants actively test the various products and the companies receive valuable feedback for further development. During this test meal, testing was carried out at seven stations. Among other things Companies such as Omicron Electronics, Caritas and Cliqua were there.

Hector Perez, UX designer at Zeughaus and founder of the Ressenz studio, dealt with the topic of emotions in product and interface design and showed how relevant the topic in UI/UX is for the brand and user experience. Christian Laesser, an independent designer specializing in data interfaces, took the participants on an exciting journey into the world of data visualization. He showed how interactive data visualizations can help us better understand systems and processes and, at best, make informed decisions. In his talk, Christian explained how the process of data exploration works, what valuable insights it offers and what limitations need to be taken into account.

On June 28th, students from the Industrial Design department at the Linz University of Art presented their unique product designs made from used materials from Carla Tex – Austria’s largest clothing sorting plant. As part of the project, the students developed a range of designs for the Caritas Vorarlberg youth employment runway. Participatory processes with young people and carers at the runway resulted in designs that will later be fully or partially produced at the runway locations and available under an independent new label.

This event offered a special edition of Fuckup Night on the topic of innovation. Three companies presented their failed innovation projects and reflected on their learning moments. It was about risk-taking and company culture. Saša Filipović, the founder of Fuck Up Nights Voralberg, lead through the program and then discussed practical approaches for constructively dealing with failure in innovation processes. The focus was on root cause analysis, risk management and strengthening a learning corporate culture.

As part of the Caritas InnoLab Challenge, innovative solutions are sought for the design of interaction spaces that enable person-centered assistance for people with disabilities and promote inclusion. In this SkillShare event the challenge was presented and new approaches were discussed together.

Lukas Madlener from Caritas gave a brief historical overview of the development of workshops over the last 100 years. Those affected report on their personal experiences in order to make their current needs and challenges visible. Stefan Knall showed from the perspective of companies how inclusion can be successful.

Finally,  the goals of the InnoLab Challenge were presented and approaches for designing interaction spaces to promote person-centered assistance and inclusion were discussed.

In the keynote speech, internationally recognized consultant Kai Schäffner addressed the question of how companies can build open or closed ecosystems around their products and services that create long-term customer benefit but also guarantee sustainable and profitable returns for the companies involved.

Ecosystem-based business models bring partners together to provide customers with a comprehensive, simplified and efficient customer experience that they no longer want to be without. Kai Schäffner shared his experiences and expertise from the digital transformation of Thermomix and is available to interested companies for dialogue.

In the keynote speech, Anna Köhl presented circular business model archetypes and backed them up with international and local examples. The examples from various sectors of the manufacturing industry showed how diverse circular solutions can be and provided inspiration to initiate the circular innovation process in your own company. A detailed case from an SME also showed possible hurdles and how to deal with them.

In the keynote speech, the experts from fairkom provided an overview of the Digital Markets Act and discussed the most important regulations that can directly or indirectly impact companies’ IT infrastructure and services. Using messenger services as an example, it showed how these new regulations force companies to adapt their digital strategies and develop innovative solutions in order to meet legal requirements.

The integration of AI into business processes is a crucial step in digital evolution. At the first Skillshare event, Jeremias Fuchs from Localmind AI gave an exciting insight into the world of local and secure AI agents, specifically aimed at daily work in industry and tourism.

Practical applications of AI technologies were shown as part of a “meetup”. A keynote speech showed how AI-based knowledge management and interactive AI agents can transform workflows and open up new avenues for efficiency and internal interactions.

The participants met the InnoLab teams to see which ideas were developed within 12 weeks. They received a first insight into the prototypes developed over three months, met the company partners and networked with our InnoLab participants.

Exciting event where industry experts shared valuable insights on the topic of corporate venturing. Participants learned strategies, challenges and successes behind this innovative approach.

Highlights:
> Participants explored the dynamic landscape of AI implementation through expert perspectives.
> The participants exchanged ideas in interesting discussions about the practical integration of AI into their organization.
> Participants made contacts with other experts, opinion leaders and technology enthusiasts.
> It was a bilingual event.

“From idea to prototype in 48 hours” – Under this motto, the creative minds of InnoLab and participants from various universities worked on solutions for important innovation challenges.

The participants in this workshop immersed themselves in the exciting world of open innovation. They discovered the benefits and challenges of an open innovation approach in their organization. They gained insights from innovation experts and business thought leaders who have harnessed the power of open innovation management to drive growth and transformation.

Highlights:
> Find out from industry experts about the advantages and disadvantages of open innovation processes
> Participate in productive discussions to implement strategies for a successful open innovation method
> Connect with like-minded people, founders and visionaries from the field of innovative business ideas
> Bilingual event

As part of InnoDays Fall 2023, a kickoff took place where our challenge partners presented the challenges and set the course for an exciting collaboration. This was the chance to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and get answers directly from the companies.

In this workshop, DI Dr. Alton-Scheidl, board member of faircom, gave an overview of current developments in the media sector, showed some models for communication at a local level, highlighted filter algorithms in social media, presented alternatives and raised ethical questions about artificial intelligence.

The innovation program InnoLab

InnoLab is a 3-month innovation programme for regional companies. Gravitat gives them the space they need to develop innovations beyond the company’s core business.

Businesses can define their challenge to drive the green and digital transformation. Employees and external talents develop solutions in an open, customer-driven and iterative process. Weekly workshops with experts guide cross-functional teams from idea generation to prototype testing.

Meet the InnoLab team