InnoChallenge brings together students from different countries and disciplines

The last InnoChallenge brought together 60 students from all over Europe at the end of the year. The online course was attended by students from Haaga-Helia's 'International Business' and 'Business Service Solutions and Languages' bachelor's programmes and exchange students. 

Engineering students from OTH Amberg-Weiden in Germany and business students from Thomas More in Belgium took also part in the course.

Innovation in international teams – 10 times already

InnoChallenge, as the name suggests, challenges students to an eight-week innovation process, during which they learn not only service design but also intensive teamwork. Last year's InnoChallenge was held for the tenth time. Teachers from the partner schools involved in the implementation played the role of coaches, each guiding their own teams.  

– In the first InnoChallenge in 2014, nearly 150 students from different schools at Haaga-Helia innovated ideas to maintain the brand of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium for the period when the stadium was under renovation, on behalf of the Stadion Foundation. Other previous clients from different countries have included the largest local industrial and service groups in their fields, as well as small start-up companies, says Olli Laintila, lecturer at Haaga-Helia.

The course culminates in the final – four Haaga-Helia students among the winners

This year, the client was Softpix Oy, a Finnish provider of graphics solutions for live broadcasts. The task of the student teams was to innovate graphic elements and related functionality to enhance the customer experience of the video meeting for Zoom's Enterprise customers, using the SPX Graphics for Zoom application.

The 2023 InnoChallenge culminated in the final on 14 December, where the teams competed to come up with the best ideas and solutions for the company. The winning team consisted of no less than four Haaga-Helia students. The winning team consisted of Muhammad Ali Asad, Batoul Al Sayed, Jocelin Kunnasmaa and Tamara Verenich from Haaga-Helia and Ukrainian Mariia Nechyporenko from OTH Amberg-Weiden.  

– InnoChallenge was not only educational, it was also more fun than a usual course. Competitive environment and genuine interest from the case company made InnoChallenge an engaging experience, commented Haaga-Helia student Tamara Verenich.

Main picture: InnoChallenge brings together students from different disciplines and cultures. Batoul Al Sayed, Mariia Nechyporenko, Jocelin Kunnasmaa, Muhammad Ali Asad and Tamara Verenich won the competition at the end of the course in December 2023.