A large glass cube is currently standing at the entrance of LUT’s Lappeenranta campus. It is occupied round the clock by a group of students incubating ideas to tackle a sustainability challenge assigned by the technology company ABB. The challenge is related to the company’s global footprint and a more sustainable, carbon-neutral future.
“LUT’s industrial engineering student Ola Jomppanen and economics student Henri Shibutani as well as three Swiss students working on the challenge. Aleksi Lehtinen, BBA, is the facilitator who supports the group’s interaction, ensuring effective cooperation and the best possible results for the client,” explains Alvar Joukamo of LUTES.
The international innovation competition, known as the InCube Challenge, features seven teams from Finland, Germany, and Switzerland this year. The name of the challenge refers not only to the glass cube but also to business and idea incubators that develop new business based on innovation. The teams pitch their projects in the competition finale, which takes place at a startup event in Zurich on October 18.
“The competition is a good example of the networking and agile business development that students interested in entrepreneurship can experience through LUTES. The City of Lappeenranta also supports this effort to promote sustainable innovation,” says Joukamo.
The entrepreneurship community LUTES helps and supports students who are planning to become entrepreneurs or dreaming of a startup. The community operates on LUT’s Lappeenranta campus and has more than 800 members from more than 20 fields of study.
