Summer School – Sustainable Business Model Innovation

Students from all universities and study programs. Diversity is encouraged for enhanced ideas and learning. Students who are passionate about making an impact for sustainability. Students who want to understand how sustainability can be integrated into the way business is done. It is not necessary to already have deep knowledge of business models or sustainability. Interest in the topic is crucial.

The Summer School is limited to 30 participants. (Minimum size for implementation is 15 students).

Requirements
Participants need to be fluent in English (advanced level: European levels B2 written/C1 oral). No formal document/proof needed.

Students:

• can systematically evaluate strengths and weaknesses of existing business models.
• understand how sustainability can be integrated into the different elements of a business model.
• apply different methods, tools, and innovative techniques to create and evaluate ideas and sustainable business model innovations.
• convincingly present the developed sustainable business model innovations both visually and orally and explain the potential and risks to the management of the company.

Over the course of the week participants will work in mixed groups. Each team will tackle the business model challenges of a different company. The program follows a design-based approach, which will include the following phases:

• Understand: Uncover and understand the context and the challenge. Pre-frame your design challenge and next steps.
• Discover: Dig deeper to empathise and understand stakeholder needs and impacts. Define Point of View.
• Generate: Generate ideas, turn insights into potential sustainable business model innovation. Narrow down to the most promising idea to prototype.
• Make: Prototype the sustainable business model innovation idea by looking at the whole business model ecosystem and determine impacts. Further develop the sustainable business model.
• Validate: Evaluate the sustainable business model innovation with checklists and gathering feedback. Then refine and present to the case holder.

This Summer School is held as part of the project TT-BMI - Think Tank Business Model Innovation. More information
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The Summer School gives 2 ECTS. Active participation during the whole week is required to receive credits. Please contact your university regarding recognition.

• Prof. Dr. Rolf Meyer, rolf.meyer@fhnw.ch
  
• Prof. Dr. Michael von Kutzschenbach, michael.vonkutzschenbach@fhnw.ch
  
• Representatives from participating companies