60 students, 10 challenges, 7 days: at the Makeathon of the project InCamS@BI, HSBI students developed ideas and solutions for companies from the region within a week. The challenges revolved around circular value creation and sustainability. The results range from CO2 balancing to alternative reusable products for production processes, photovoltaic and wallbox concepts and a take-back system for teat liners.





"When we talk about circular value creation, it means that we think in cycles - in other words, 'circular'. 'Value' is about the material content of raw materials and resources. And 'creation' shows that it is a creative and innovative process," explains Katharina Schnatmann in the packed conference area at Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (HSBI). Schnatmann works at in ITES, the Institute for Technical Energy Systems at HSBI, and technology scout in the InCamS@BI project, the Innovation Campus for Sustainable Solutions. InCamS@BI and ITES are organizing a Makeathon for HSBI students today. The concept of a Makeathon: companies bring problems, so-called challenges, for which student teams then develop solutions within a defined period of time . The teams form spontaneously on site.





All roads lead to the "R": The basic principles of the circular economy

As all the challenges dealt with the circular economy, Schnatmann began by presenting the basic principles of the circular economy, i.e. circular value creation. These "R strategies" get their name from the common initial letter: Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Replace, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Repurpose, Recycle and Recover are their names and all aim to reduce the consumption of natural resources. From Katharina Schnatmann's point of view, Replace is particularly noteworthy, as it represents an "R" that has received relatively little attention to date - in this case, raw materials and materials are replaced by environmentally friendly alternatives.



The challenges of the day all come from regional companies from a wide range of sectors. The participating companies include traditional manufacturers such as Ludwig Weinrich, the Dr. Wolff Group and even Hebie, one of the oldest companies in Bielefeld. In addition, Parker Hannifin, Adelt, GEA Group, Wöhler Technik and Bio-Circle Surface Technology, some of them providers of highly specialized technology solutions, are also taking part. They are all looking for circular solutions for their products and processes in the tasks ("challenges") they bring with them and are hoping for valuable "input" from the HSBI students.



Reusable instead of disposable: reuse in the chocolate factory

The family business Ludwig Weinrich GmbH & Co.KG from Herford produces one of the most popular sweets: Chocolate. What is such a company doing at the Makeathon for Circular Economy? "As with all foodstuffs, production is subject to strict hygiene requirements," reports Nadesha Gudi, Environmental Manager and Energy Officer at Weinrich. "In order to comply with these, disposable products such as gloves, foil, hairnets and the like are often used in production. As they come into contact with chocolate, we have to dispose of them afterwards as mixed waste. But we want to get away from disposable products. Now we want to know: Are thereperhaps reusable products that we can use in the production process?"



The team for this challenge was quickly found: Three female students from the fifth semester of industrial engineering meet two students of renewable energies, also fifth semester: Amra Meier, Lea Uyanik, Aysenur Yesil and Tobias Komander with Erik Hüdepohl. Immediately after the kick-off event, the team sits down together and considers the approach for the coming week. It quickly becomes clear that the group will split up so that everyone can focus on individual products: The industrial engineers look at hoods, gloves and beard protectors, while the renewable energy students deal with jute bags and buckets. All of these products are used in chocolate production and have so far been thrown away after use.



A week later, the Weinrich team presents its results at the results pitch: there are numerous alternatives to disposable products - for example beard protectors and hoods that are used in the medical sector and can be washed. "They should actually also meet the requirements of the food industry," the team considered. However, whether this is economically viable and more sustainable in terms of water consumption still needs to be investigated. They will present their ideas in a ten-minute presentation at the final event. The biodegradable jute bags used to transport cocoa beans, for example, are currently thrown away after use. "They could also be used for other purposes:

For fire departments as sandbags, for transporting fruit and vegetables, as insulating material or by garden centers for composting or as winter protection," suggests Erik Hüdepohl.



"We learned a lot at the Makeathon: about how to initiate a creative process, that a big hurdle is best broken down into small steps and, of course, a lot about chocolate production," says Lea Uyanik. In their project work, all five want to delve deeper into the topic and also visit the company in Herford to do so. Environmental Manager Gudi herself is delighted with the group results produced in the sprint: "The Makeathon was very worthwhile for us. The students have a fresh perspective and time to look at our challenges in a different way. I'm really looking forward to continuing to work with the team!"



Repairing instead of throwing away: Repair for Parker Hannifin

Four young industrial engineering students devoted themselves to a completely different task during the Makeathon week: the company Parker Hannifin GmbH wanted to know how a circular increase in value could be generated for a special handheld measuring device. "These devices are often used outdoors. We would like to know: How can we design the product so that it can be better repaired? Should it be possible to recycle the device? Can we perhaps even use recycled material in the production process?" explains Sven Patzwald. He is Environment, Health and Safety Manager at Parker Hannifin, one of the world's leading manufacturers of drive and control technology.

For him and his colleague Necat Kurt, the Makeathon is a good opportunity to gain new perspectives. Cornel Röfe is in his first semester, Simon Danne, Marten Kirchhoff and Marcel Stender are in their fifth - they form the team that is working on the Parker Challenge. They agree to communicate with a chat app during the week in order to maintain a direct communication channel to the two contact persons in the company. Over the course of the week, they exchange information almost daily in order to master the challenge. "The most difficult thing for us was to find the starting point. Once the tasks were clearly assigned and we had all the information together, it was easier for us," Cornel Röfe reports on the group's discovery and solution process.



Individual work phases and information exchange alternated. At Parker in Bielefeld, the team was able to see how the measuring devices are assembled. "This insight into practice was very valuable for us. During the week, we saw what you can achieve if you work intensively and regularly on a topic," concludes Simon Danne. Monday, October 30, is also the day for the team: the young "wings", as the industrial engineers are often abbreviated at the university, will present their ideas from the working week, which is also called a "sprint" in Makeathon: "Our proposal aims to make individual components on the device interchangeable. This includes the screen and fixed connections. If these parts can be repaired, the service life of the devices is extended. Usable parts could be recycled from old and broken devices - of course, customers would have to send their old devices back to Parker for this. And: It would be helpful for production to keep more statistics. This would allow Parker to improve the longevity of its components in a targeted manner."



Like most of the other teams, the four want to continue working on the company's challenge in a project during the winter semester and deepen the concept. Patzwald and Kurt are also satisfied with the results: "The students have given us new ideas: in future, we will collect further statistics for our measuring device in order to record how we can further optimize ourselves. Up to now, broken devices have been completely replaced. With regard to circular value creation, we want to make greater use of the R-Strategy Repair, as suggested by the students."



HSBI students open up new perspectives for companies

The other teams have also developed exciting approaches: For GEA, one of the world's leading manufacturers and providers of holistic milking solutions, there was a proposal to transfer liners for cows into a take-back system and initial approaches to what a "second life" for the products could look like after they leave the system. Hebie, a manufacturer of add-on components for bicycles, was looking for photovoltaic modules and wall boxes. The students presented various models with advantages and disadvantages as well as a system for integration. And for the regional medicine and cosmetics manufacturer Dr. Wolff, there is a concept for a station at which employees are to be made aware of the sustainable use of energy. At the electronics equipment manufacturer Wöhler, three students have analyzed the requirements for a list of materials for creating a CO2 balance and developed ideas for recycling measuring devices.



Conclusion

The overall assessment of the first InCamS@BI Makeathon is consistently positive: In addition to various student projects, both sides leave the premiere with a whole range of new perspectives.