The path of an innovative idea from research to practical application is often long and challenging. The InCamS@BI project aims to change this. To turn ideas into functioning practice, a dedicated research group helps with the transfer between science and application. The aim of the innovation managers is also to support the development of a regional innovation ecosystem whose structures will also endure in the future.



It is said that every innovation begins with an idea. But every event on the topic of innovation begins with manual work. This is the first impression that comes to mind when observing the preparations of the Innovation Management research group of the Innovation Campus for Sustainable Solutions (InCamS@BI) project for their "1st HSBI Innovation Forum" : Crates of drinks are dragged, signs are hung up, roll-ups are unrolled, chairs are moved until the frame is perfect. Professor Dr. Ingo Ballschmieter sees his team's preparations in a very pragmatic context with the topic of the afternoon: "We only speak of an innovation when an idea or invention is actually implemented or used by the target group, and that is precisely what we are creating the conditions for."



An innovative idea needs the right environment

The 44-year-old has been Professor of General Business Administration with a focus on Entrepreneurship and Human Resources at HSBI since the beginning of the year and is now standing in the bright room 208 at Kurt-Schumacher-Straße. Together with other research and transfer projects, InCamS@BI has also found its home here. Today, an event of the project's own "Expert Panel" format is taking place here: In an informal setting, representatives from regional companies will discuss one of the project's topics following a scientific input from . In addition to plastics and circular value creation, this also includes the development of innovative business models. On the agenda today is "Open Innovation", a new variant of the innovation process - the innovation of innovation. It is one of Ballschmieter's key topics, for which he was recently even invited to speak at the University of California, Berkeley.



One of the key topics is called "Open Innovation"

The approach attempts to reflect the complex and dynamic conditions under which companies develop innovations in the 21st century: "In the past, companies have tended to apply a closed innovation approach. They have developed ideas for new products or services themselves, implemented research and development themselves and, with an eye on competitors, made as little of it as possible public before the market launch," says Ballschmieter, explaining the classic innovation model. However, under the conditions of technological advances such as AI, dwindling resources or general competitive pressure, this model is reaching its limits. During the closed development process, decisive changes in the market environment can be lost sight of and the original innovation may already be outdated by the time it is launched or fail to meet customer needs. "Open innovation, on the other hand, stands for opening up the innovation process to the outside world, i.e. the inclusion of external players. This can include suppliers, customers, universities or research partners," explains Ballschmieter. "The advantage of such an innovation ecosystem for companies lies in the expansion of knowledge and creativity. This in turn reduces the risk of undesirable developments," says Ballschmieter, underlining the benefits of the open innovation process.



Theplastics industry is particularly suitable as anexample for open innovation approaches Given the major challenges it faces in terms of sustainability and resource consumption, the plastics industry addressed by InCamS@BI is particularly suitable as an example for open innovation processes, explains Ballschmieter: "The industry is in the midst of a transformation towards sustainable, bio-based materials, recycling-oriented product design and the implementation of a circular economy. This requires research, development and expertise from players with experience in sustainability. It therefore makes perfect sense for companies to enter into collaborations with universities, research institutions and other stakeholders such as innovation networks - that's open innovation."

Of course, the approach also involves risks, such as bad investments or the loss of intellectual property before patenting: "The introduction of open innovation processes undoubtedly presents companies with complex tasks," says Ballschmieter, describing a frequent obstacle for companies. "It is therefore important to develop an appropriate strategy for each individual case before introducing it, which also identifies the limits of openness."



How can the expertise of InCamS@BI and the needs of SMEs be brought together?

The basic principles of "open innovation" could be something like the guiding principle of the innovation management research group at InCamS@BI. After all, the interdisciplinary InCamS@BI team also brings plenty of knowledge and creativity to the table in the form of its technology scouts. Bringing this knowledge together with the practical problems of plastics processing companies and incorporating it into the development of new business models is therefore one of the key issues of the project, says Theresa Nerlich: "For me, transfer means bringing knowledge from the university to society and vice versa. In the end, this always creates added value. This includes, for example, research projects with companies, founding start-ups or maintaining and expanding HSBI's large network." The 29-year-old is one of a total of four lecturers for innovation management who, together with their mentors, Prof. Dr. Ingo Ballschmieter and Prof. Dr. Tim Kampe, enrich the InCamS@BI project with business expertise. The business economist first came into contact with the start-up scene in OWL during her Master of Business Administration. After completing her studies, she almost logically remained loyal to the topic of start-ups at HSBI's Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE).



Creative methods such as design thinking strengthen the team's problem-solving skills



What appeals to Nerlich most about the InCamS@BI project is the challenge of teaching the interdisciplinary team new skills for solving different problems: "InCamS@BI brings together a lot of different knowledge from seven research groups. On the one hand, this is a challenge. On the other hand, we can turn this heterogeneity of knowledge into a success factor in solving complex problems using the design thinking method, for example." In the first 18 months or so of InCamS@BI, the project team faced these challenges time and again: in addition to developing their own work processes, the 28 team members had to get to know each other's expertise, individual skills and resources. The research group played a key role in shaping this internal knowledge transfer with its expertise in creativity techniques and team building. In a series of workshops designed for this purpose, the technology scouts took it in turns to present their area of expertise, after which the rest of the team applied the knowledge they had just acquired to the topics of the project.





The research group wants to be a source of inspiration for the rest of the team



Consultant Jannis Stadtmann also sees the research group's greatest strengths in this role as a source of inspiration: "In addition to our methodological expertise, we bring the customer perspective and an eye for innovation to the InCamS@BI work. Both are not only important when designing our processes , but also help us when planning trade fairs or events." Stadtmann's broad horizon helps him to change his perspective. Before completing his Master's degree in Applied Entrepreneurship at the TH OWL, the 33-year-old completed an apprenticeship as a carpenter and then worked and studied wood technology at the Campus Lemgo. For Stadtmann, the connecting element between the different stations is thinking in terms of innovations and the resulting business models: "We want to develop new ideas based on entrepreneurial problems that contribute to a solution in the sense of the circular economy . At the same time, we always keep an eye on the potential for developing a new business model."



Intrapreneurship projects of established partners serve as inspiration

At the innovation forum, Dr. Stephanie Rabbe from Miele will present the intrapreneurship project "Miele Pioneers Camp", which she supervises. The basic idea behind this project is to make the company's employees themselves the driving force behind innovation processes. This empowering approach of tapping into one's own potential appeals to InCamS@BI speaker Ramona Minnerop: "The first thing you often need for innovation is the courage to think outside the box and completely question familiar processes ," reports Minnerop, who also works in the HSBI department Academic Continuing Education on dovetailing work and studies: "People who work with a company's products on a daily basis can therefore be an excellent source for innovation processes . They view the existing business model from a dual perspective, because they can be both producers and users of the product and know where a process is stuck."InCamS@BI also wants to strengthen these and similar new perspectives in its project ideas for interested companies.

The aim of is to create a regional innovation ecosystem that extends beyond the project itself

With the existing and future contacts of the project, a regional innovation ecosystem is to be created in which companies, researchers and customers interact even after the end of the project. In line with the principles of "Open Innovation", the external input of the respective partners should become a permanent source of innovation. The basis for this is laid in the different transfer formats that InCamS@BI is testing and building initial networks: In addition to the "Expert Panel", the team offers interested companies "Technology Checks", in which starting points for a circular conversion of a product or their business model are found together with participating companies. The participatory formats "Barcamp" and "Makeathon" also serve as idea generators and to consolidate the network.





In the best case scenario, start-ups grow from the InCamS@BI results



"We are looking for business models, most of which do not yet exist ," adds Amir Giebel. The 36-year-old knows all about developing sustainable business models. After studying environmental engineering at , he and a fellow student founded a start-up that developed concepts for intelligent energy-efficient façade refurbishments and was awarded a start-up prize by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. "At best, the end of InCamS@BI has also produced ideas that have the potential to become spin-offs . Regardless of whether this happens or not, as a research group we want to be the sparring partner that a good idea needs on the way to getting there," says Giebel, drawing a comparison with boxing. The ideas developed in InCamS@BI probably don't have to face such tough battles as those in the ring on their way to application - but it can't be done entirely without manual work.

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InCamS@BI - Innovation Campus for Sustainable Solutions



  In the InCamS@BI project, the Innovation Campus for Sustainable Solutions at Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (HSBI) and Bielefeld University, an interdisciplinary team is developing innovative ideas to provide answers to the question of how plastics can be integrated into the circular economy. Experts from plastics technology, engineering, physics, chemistry, business law, business psychology and innovation management are developing project outlines - together with and for companies and society. InCamS@BI is designing new event and dialog formats in order to enter into an exchange with other stakeholders, particularly from the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region. With its work, the team aims to help professionalize the transfer of ideas, knowledge and technology at HSBI to and establish sustainable structures at the university. InCamS@BI is a transfer project and is funded by the federal-state initiative "Innovative University" from 2023 to 2027. More information:  www.hsbi.de/incamsbi