Intercontinental creativity and digital innovation

Opening Ceremony saw 39 different ideas pitched by participants, followed by the vote where the top ideas were selected and teams of 4-5 participants were formed around each of them. Erica Monfardini, Director of Administration and Finance at the University of Luxembourg, greeted participants, mentors and guests with a welcome note : “Ideation Camp is extremely challenging so you need to stay strong and learn resilience, but it is going to boost your soft skills and the qualities which will be precious for you when you are going to look for a job, when you need to work in teams and to inspire others”.

For three days and nights, teams were working on the market research and business plan for their commercial ideas, supported by one dedicated full-time mentor each aka Guardian Angels.

“This was my first experience with the Ideation Camp,” – comments Ruchi Jaju, a Guardian Angle. “What stood out for me in the course of the event was the fact that students were very receptive to working with each other while understanding the strengths and weaknesses of every individual. Having experienced the corporate environment myself, I know how important it is to get the synergies right with your colleagues. Ideation Camp is a great example of providing an on-job experience to all the participants and it could not get more real than this. It not only prepares the participants to enter into entrepreneurship, but it also prepares them for the corporate world. Ideation Camp is a great platform to learn how to manage teams and conflicts, exercise your mind in different directions and come with the best possible solution, stay focused, and practice agile decision-making.

The winner of the Ideation Camp 8 is NexPerience team formed by the students from both universities : Aymeric Le Drezen from University of Luxembourg, Kyle McCorvey and Max Rattner from Miami University, Myriam Merz and Yacine Abbas from the University of Luxembourg.

“Signing up for Ideation Camp, I was very excited to leave my comfort zone of biomedical sciences and put my translational skills to the test,” – says Myriam Merz. “After the groups were formed, I felt more at ease. We exchanged ideas, thoughts, and knowledge without restrictions and at a fast pace. It was invigorating and exhausting at the same time. Whenever we felt stuck, our Guardian Angel gave us a nudge in the right direction and when we felt confident, he encouraged us to do even better. Getting a lot of different inputs from mentors and organisers did feel overwhelming at times but we evolved as a group and stayed true to our goals. I am glad to have taken on this challenge because it showed me the real value of my skills and strengths. Winning the Ideation Camp was an added bonus but the real value was to see how much we could achieve within the timeframe and how to leverage the most from individual strengths”.

University of Luxembourg