Innovative business ideas at MCI Creativity Award 2015

Date 2015-12-14
The Entrepreneurial School® awards prizes to most creative student business ideas

Also in 2015, the Management Center Innsbruck organized the MCI Creativity Award to recognize the most creative business ideas of their students in cooperation with the Center for Academic Spin-offs Tyrol (CAST).

The students of the Entrepreneurial School® have impressively demonstrated their entrepreneurial spirit with altogether 39 team as well as individual submissions. The competition targets MCI students of all study programs who have exceptional business or product ideas and aim to assume their economic and social responsibility through entrepreneurship. The received submissions represent the broad range of study programs offered at MCI. They come from economic and technical fields as well as the areas of society and social affairs. A jury of experts determined the five award winners via a demanding selection procedure, which consisted of multiple stages.

Owing to the support of our partners CAST, the Federation of Austrian Industry, and the daily paper Die Presse, attractive prizes with a total value of more than 4.000 Euros could be awarded to the most innovative ideas.

Florian Becke, Managing Director of CAST: “The MCI Creativity Award provides students with the opportunity to deal with crucial questions relating to the market potential of their ideas. A jury of experts additionally offers valuable feedback. The participation in the Creativity Award has more and more often become the first step towards founding a business. We are happy to be able to accompany these motivated young people.”

Bernd Ebersberger, Head of the R & D Department at MCI: “With the MCI Creativity Award, MCI and its partners give new impetus to entrepreneurial thinking and actively help shape the landscape of start-ups in Tyrol. The event shows the students of all MCI study programs that innovative business formation constitutes an interesting career option.”

Andreas Altman, Rector of MCI: “As Entrepreneurial School® we promote and demand young people with entrepreneurial thinking. I am delighted about the creative submissions we have received and should like to thank the jury and our partners for their support and congratulate the prize winners. It is truly incredible what hardworking people and creative minds are capable of.”

The award winners and their ideas:

1st place: Simon Zigala (Industrial Engineering & Management)

BLIZZARD – The development of an innovative technical method for clearing truck tops from snow and ice
The snow and ice falling from truck tops causes fatal accidents every year. The project now makes this danger a thing of the past.

2nd place: Johanna Haas, Klemens Gratzel (Business & Management)

The new comfort of shopping
The innovative tool enhances service level and customer satisfaction. The customer enjoys a new and unique shopping experience.

3rd place: Martin Waler (Environmental, Process & Energy Engineering)

Recovery of energy from green waste including the production of biochar
The method combines material and thermal recycling of green waste and thus constitutes an economic relief to heating plants and district heating grids. Biochar is supplied as a secondary product.

4th place: Philipp Halder, David Bock, Rudolf Haas, Christoph Nothegger (Management, Communication & IT)

Smile Together. Local – Refugee - Friendship
Smile Together (www.smiletogether.eu, hello@smiletogether.eu) is an online platform which brings refugees and locals together. Motivated programers who are prepared to assist the implementation of our project are welcome.

5th place: Christoph Fink, Philip Weihrauch (Business & Management)

NAKED Optics
The project aims to develop ecofriendly winter sports equipment using innovative resources according to the principles of circular economy.

{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=1031}

Press contact
{mcicontact view=presse|id=1}
Sensational result for the MCI
Sensational result for the MCI
FIBAA Premium Seal double for the Entrepreneurial School® In 2014, the MCI underwent the regular university audit and had an additional voluntary audit performed for institutional accreditation. In both cases, the impressive result was the award of the internationally recognized and highly prestigious Premium Seal. The two Premium Seals are convincing proof of academic quality at Management Center Innsbruck and show that the MCI maintains quality standards that are well above the international average.  Brigitte Auer, as head of Quality Management at MCI, confirms the wisdom of the strategy pursued by the MCI from the very beginning: "Thanks to our consistent quality-first policy, Management Center Innsbruck was able to position itself with the leaders in the Austrian university education scene from the start. The two Premium Seals awarded are a mandate to continue to do everything possible to further develop our products and services and satisfy international quality requirements to the full.” The MCI’s Rector Dr. Andreas Altmann adds: “MCI Management Center Innsbruck was founded in 1995/96. In the meantime almost 3000 students, 1000 teachers, 200 partner universities and countless companies and graduates all over the world place their trust in the MCI. The two Premium Seals are a source of motivation and strengthen our resolve for our future work." The audits were carried out by the international FIBAA Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation, which has offices in Bonn and Zurich. {phocagallery view=category|categoryid=962}Press contacts and queries:{mcicontact view=presse|id=1}
MCI achieves success in medical engineering
MCI achieves success in medical engineering
Tyrolean Economic Chamber awards Science Prize for system to minimize radiation exposure of patients For the second time in a row the Science Prize of the Tyrolean Economic Chamber goes to two graduates of the master program in mechatronics. This year, Thomas Gabloner and Michael Marek have been able to impress the jury with their master project in the field of medical engineering: In cooperation with the Innsbruck Medical University, the graduates have developed an innovative system for radiofrequency ablation, which considerably reduces the radiation exposure of patients during the treatment of tumors.The method of radiofrequency ablation relies on thermal energy created through the application of radio frequency current to treat tumors. In order to destroy the tumor tissue, the RF current is delivered directly to the diseased cells via needle electrodes. The exact location where the electrodes need to be applied is determined by use of x-ray guidance. The surgeon manually places the electrodes in the predetermined location. This procedure, during which the patient is constantly exposed to radiation, takes approximately 21,2 seconds. A method for the automated placement of electrodes, as developed by the MCI graduates Gabloner and Marek, can significantly reduce the radiation exposure of the patients during the treatment. Precise placement of the electrodes moreover guarantees that healthy tissue does not get affected. The advancement of the procedure includes the automatic generation of four images via x-rays. Once the images have been obtained, the position of the electrodes is determined within approximately 4,8 seconds on the basis of control and image processing algorithms. Thus accelerating the process of placing the electrodes, the method substantially improves the effectiveness of tumor treatment.The Science Prize of the Tyrolean Economic Chamber is awarded to acknowledge exceptional diploma and master projects as well as dissertations which display a high degree of innovation, and present small and middle-sized enterprises with immediate application possibilities. For Andreas Mehrle, Head of the MCI Department for Mechatronics, the award confirms the success of the degree program in Mechatronics offered at MCI: “The rewarded projects represent the broad and promising range of opportunities opening up by the study of Mechatronics. I wish to congratulate Thomas Gabloner and Michael Marek on their exceptional achievement.”MCI Rector Andreas Altmann emphasizes: “MCI students are trained to become academic engineers, who demonstrate their ability to break down highly complex theories into practical requirements already during their studies. The award is encouragement to further develop and expand our study program in engineering in order to meet the requirements of practice.”Project Summary{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=1039}Presscontact{mcicontact view=presse|id=1}
MCI launches double degree program with Kingston University
MCI launches double degree program with Kingston University
MCI students will be able to obtain an additional Master of Laws degree at Kingston Law School in LondonThe Entrepreneurial School® has taken another big step forward in its internationalization efforts by signing a double degree agreement with the renowned Kingston University. MCI students from the “Strategic Management & Law” Master’s program can now obtain a “Master of Laws” (LL.M.) degree in addition to their “Master of Arts in Business” (MA) degree from MCI.The new cooperation allows students to receive two reputable and internationally recognized degrees and thus adds another exclusive double degree option at an attractive location to the MCI’s range of programs. MCI has been offering double degree programs with the Università Carlo Cattaneo (LIUC) and Edinburgh Napier University and has now created a third opportunity with Kingston University. Thanks to efficient transfer of credits and well-aligned curricula, students can earn two degrees in four semesters.Prof. Dr. Ralf Geymayer, program director of the “Strategic Management & Law” Master’s program, is very pleased with the cooperation: “With an additional title, optimized language skills and a treasure trove of experience our graduates will be able to distinguish themselves even more in the job market. Kingston University is an excellent new partner not only on a professional level but also in terms of its location. With its cosmopolitan urban setting and great cultural heritage London is the perfect place for a stay abroad.”Siri Harris, BA LLB LLM, senior lecturer at Kingston Law School: “With the launch of this double degree program, our students will benefit from an international spirit, a high-quality joint study program and the ties of friendship connecting our institutions. We are proud to be able to offer our students this great opportunity to receive degrees from two recognized universities.”{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=xxx}Pressekontakt und Rückfragen:{mcicontact view=presse|id=1}