The Applied Design Thinking method developed by Professor Schallmo, Head of the Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability, enabled the students to develop customer- and user-centric solutions. The method is based on a seven-phase process model that is widely used in various industries.
The central question of the workshop was: "How can we, as a motorhome manufacturer, make the company sustainable by using new digital business models?"
Innovative input and practical results for the Erwin Hymer Group
The solutions developed by the students included various platform concepts to target customers and offer added value. Prototypes were also created using the design thinking method, including mock-ups for innovative apps and developed films.
Key learnings and feedback from students
"At first, I was sceptical about how we could complete this task in 4 days. But each new day showed me more and more that in a team many things are possible that seemed impossible before," said Helene Kischner, Management, Digitalisation and Sustainability student. The students emphasised that teamwork and the individual strengths of each person led to an outstanding result. Participating in the workshop enabled the students to gain valuable knowledge, experience and insights that they can use in future modules and to get to know each other for future teamwork.
Christoph Behmüller expressed his excitement: "The last four days of Design Thinking have been extremely inspiring for me. We not only experienced the method intensively, but also the creativity, collaboration and innovative approaches. The deep mutual understanding developed in the team was particularly emphasised, which the students see as a strength for their future studies.
Although the tight time frame challenged them, it also pushed them to excel, as student Thomas Buch pointed out: "The time pressure was nevertheless a constant companion, and this 'pushed' them to top performance." In conclusion, the students expressed their excitement about applying what they had learned in their future careers: "I'm looking forward to seeing how I can use what I've learned in my job."
About the Erwin Hymer Group
The Erwin Hymer Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of THOR Industries, one of the world's leading manufacturers of leisure vehicles with over 25,000 employees. As a partner in the workshop, the Erwin Hymer Group provided the students with practical insights and challenges. The students were supervised by two representatives of the company, Pia Katz and Rosalie Schilling.
"Many thanks to Professor Dr Schallmo, Professor Dr Kolb and the Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences for the inspiring and motivating collaboration we experienced during the Design Thinking workshop. It was impressive to see the enthusiasm and ambition with which the students approached the topic and were able to empathise with the company, partners and customers in a very short time. It was interesting to see the group dynamics and to observe how a great team spirit was created in just a few days, even beyond the boundaries of the team. Thank you for your commitment to immerse yourself in the caravaning industry for a few days. Full of inspiration, we are now looking forward to implementing the ideas in our digital solutions," said Pia Katz and Rosalie Schilling.
All in all, the course was a successful start for the part-time bachelor's programme in "Management, Digitalisation and Sustainability", which is characterised by innovative teaching methods and practice-oriented content.
