Category: DTLab_Coop

Meet green? How GreenMeet helps to make business meetings more sustainable

CIL projects, DTLab_Coop

Students from Tampere University of Applied Sciences and Munich University of Applied Sciences joined forces with Salesforce in the winter semester of 2023 to develop a solution which contributes to reducing CO2 emissions: GreenMeet.

Screenshot GreenMeet entry page

The digital assistant helps sales representatives to decide whether a meeting should be held virtually or in person and shows the user the emissions of a potential round trip. Based on the importance and sales stage of a potential customer as well as calculated CO2 emissions, a recommendation is given for the best-fitting meeting type.

The problem of conscious meeting decisions

Meetings were often held in person in the past but since the pandemic, they are increasingly conducted online, although personal contact is of great importance, especially in sales. But the world has to change. Companies, societies, and individuals are demanding more environmentally friendly actions instead of travelling around the world for a short business meeting.

Additionally, there are advanced possibilities for more personalized and interactive meetings online, enabled by virtual reality (VR). Hence, sales representatives face the issue of multiple meeting-type options when talking to their customers. Choosing the appropriate one is a challenge – the solution is GreenMeet.

GreenMeet considers all relevant meeting and transport types

In cooperation with the Co-Innovation Lab of Munich University of Applied Sciences, TAMK and Salesforce, the student team developed a digital assistant that calculates CO2 emissions and gives individual recommendations on the appropriate meeting format. For in-person meetings, GreenMeet calculates the CO2 emissions of a trip by plane, train, and car, both electric and gas-powered. For online meetings, the carbon emissions of VR and video meetings are considered. All values are based on trustworthy data provided by the German environmental agency and other scientific sources.                                                                                                                                 

Project team (from top left: Charlotte Sixt, Bastian Forster, Verlinda Ibraimi, Benjamin Schiff, Mona Seith, Joni Foss, Inka Lagerboom, Visa Keskinen, Lotta Viljamaa)  

GreenMeet provides the highest transparency and a meeting-type recommendation engine

Once all information is entered, a bar chart with the CO2 emissions values of each meeting type is shown. Based on this overview and the individual customer importance and sales stage, GreenMeet provides a recommendation for the meeting type. Besides that, it is also shown how much CO2 could be saved by choosing the most environmentally friendly method.

GreenMeet contributes to building a sustainable future together

“In the short project time, a solution with real added value has been created that can be used directly,” says Hans Paulini, Principal Solution Engineer at Salesforce. “By integrating GreenMeet into Salesforce’s travel approval process in the future, employees can be actively supported in making more conscious meeting decisions. And most importantly, they are contributing to the world’s journey to net zero. Many thanks to the student team for the great collaboration!”

About the Digital Innovation Lab and the Co-Innovation Lab

This solution was designed in a joint project between the Digital Transformation Lab and the Co-Innovation Lab of Hochschule München in cooperation with Tampere University of Applied Sciences guided by the lecturers Prof. Dr. Holger Günzel, Prof. Dr. Lars Brehm, Hans-Jürgen Haak, and Anne-Mari Sainio. The Co-Innovation Lab offers students a virtual platform for learning how to work as a consulting team by creating temporary partnerships between companies, students, and lecturers.

For more information about the MeetGreen, the Digital Transformation Lab or the Co-Innovation Lab, contact holger.guenzel@hm.edu or lars.brehm@hm.edu.

This Co-Innovation Lab project was carried out in cooperation with the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:

“The Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the major social challenges of our time. Together with stakeholders in the private sector, students develop future-oriented solutions. They are supported by Amazon Web Services with state-of-the-art cloud technologies and the Working Backwards innovation methodology. We live digital transformation.”

More information about the Co-Innovation Lab and the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:

Autoren: Team MeetGreen

DocuWare’s CO2 Analyzer – A Simple Way of Increasing Awareness for Hidden CO2 Saving Opportunities by Going Paperless

CIL projects, DTLab_Coop

An easy-to-use CO2 calculation tool – the DocuWare CO2 Anaylzer – was developed by an international team of students to highlight CO2 saving potentials by moving towards digital business processes that supports the sales team of DocuWare, a cloud-based software-as-a-service company.

The Project Team (F.l.t.r.): Anna Minakova (Product Owner), Andreas Birnkammer (Scrum Master), Patrick Mann (Business Developer), Julian Osiander (Business Developer), Darina Kopacheva (Business Developer), Jenna Westerlund (IT Developer), Janika Kupila (IT Developer), Jyri Ruohoniemi (IT Developer), Aaro Kurki (IT Developer)

Saving CO2 Emissions as a Business Model
As firms must evaluate their business processes regarding caused CO2 emissions, DocuWare helps companies to achieve their sustainability goals of reducing carbon emissions. The software company offers smart solutions to digitize paper-intensive business processes to simplify complexity by process automation. DocuWare does not just want to use digitization for simplification but also as a step towards a more CO2-neutral office environment.

“With the CO2-Calculator, we want to provide our prospects and customers with a tool that calculates how much CO2 emissions they can specifically save by digitizing a business process. In other words, how much CO2 a digital process such as invoice processing emits in contrast to a paper-based process? So, in addition to saving paper and trees, you can also show this positive aspect of digitization.” Dr. Stefan Weinberger (DocuWare – Sr. Director Inside Sales)

Increasing Awareness of Saving Carbon Emissions
To date, the benefits of digitizing an office environment are abstract and concrete figures about potential CO2 savings are not given. Therefore, the DocuWare CO2-Anaylzer can inform the user, which will be the DocuWare sales team first and later on the client interested in using the DocuWare product, about the concrete sustainability benefits of going paperless is required. The user needs to know how much CO2 emissions they can reduce and how that benefits the environment by switching to a digital solution. Thereby, the application is easy to use while also quickly providing results with the use of a limited number of relevant parameters. It offers the user an estimation of how much CO2 they produce right now compared to implementing the digitized solution of DocuWare as well as how many trees can be saved in the process of manufacturing the necessary paper.

The CO2 Analyzer – An Internationally Developed Tool
The application was developed by a cross-cultural student team from the Munich University of Applied Sciences and Tampere University of Applied Sciences guided by Prof. Dr. Brehm, Prof. Dr. Günzel, Anne-Mari Sainio and Hans-Jürgen Haak. Furthermore, through the active engagement of DocuWare representatives during the development process the students were able to create a viable solution. Conclusively, the sales team of DocuWare as well as their potential customers are provided with a scientific-based calculation tool that highlights possible CO2 savings which can be used then as an additional selling point for their cloud solutions.

This Co-Innovation Lab project was carried out in cooperation with the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:

“The Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the major social challenges of our time. Together with stakeholders in the private sector, students develop future-oriented solutions. They are supported by Amazon Web Services with state-of-the-art cloud technologies and the Working Backwards innovation methodology. We live digital transformation.”

More information about the Co-Innovation Lab and the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:

Autoren: Team Docuware

“PredictiveBMS” helps preserve art at the Museum of London

CIL projects, DTLab_Coop

In a project of the Co-innovation lab of the Munich University of Applied Sciences, a team of bachelor and master students together with the Museum of London tackled the challenge of introducing predictive maintenance to the museum’s Air Handling Units (AHUs). The “predictiveBMS” application developed in the project uses data from the many sensors in the museum’s AHUs and is able to predict when failures will occur based on the already available data. This addresses the problem of AHU downtime, which can damage the museum’s art in the long run, as the museum can currently only react to failures after they occured as there is no way to predict them at the moment.

Possibility to avoid failures and downtimes of the Air Handling Units

So far, the MoL has not been able to predict failures and defects in its AHUs. The AHUs ensure that the environmental conditions in the museum remain within the set parameters that provide an optimal indoor climate for the artworks and protect them from, for example, temperature fluctuations and humidity-related damage. However, AHU failures occur frequently and can cause damage to the museum’s artworks if they fail for an extended period of time.

Co-Innovation Lab develops “predictiveBMS” to forecast failures in Air Handling Units

To improve workflow and detect damage in advance, the new application “predictiveBMS” was developed  for the AHU maintenance at MoL. Building on the continuously collected data from various sensors in the AHUs, the MoL has taken the opportunity to further develop the smart buildings applications. predictiveBMS is based on machine learning and artificial intelligence and provides the engineers of the MoL with an opportunity  to be proactive, as it is now possible to predict failures and outages of the AHUs. The predictiveBMS system provides engineers with a web dashboard that displays all potential failures and sends alerts for faults that might occur. For on the go, predictiveBMS offers an app that can be used from anywhere and informs about potential outages through push notifications.

Facility managers and engineers are looking forward to integrating the solution into their work processes

“The move to use sophisticated learning, forecasting and prediction models in building maintenance is long overdue. We’re excited at the Museum of London to implement predictiveBMS to predict failures and improve operational knowledge and efficiency. This will be a key piece of Facilities Management software going forward.” – Steve Watson, Technical Building Lead (New Museum)

The Museum of London is striving to be carbon free by 2040

The development of a smart building management system that precisely meets the museum’s needs is intended to help achieve the target. The museum wants to be a pioneer in this field, but also a positive influence on other museums in terms of its public responsibility. Smart building management can save not only costs but also large amounts of greenhouse gasses and help to achieve the net zero emissions target set by the British government. In addition, the construction of the new museum, which is currently being designed, offers great potential to make processes and working methods more efficient. The Director of Museum of London (MoL), Sharon Ament has stated that her aim for the New Museum at Smithfield is to build “a new civic space, that is sustainable, for millions of visitors to enjoy, 24 hours a day”

     Project team: (front from left to right:) Ishak Hagi, Fabian Halbig, Jannis Unkrig. (Back from left to right:)
Jana Caven, Lea Neureither, Kathrin Wetzels, Ana Babovic, Tobias Schwarzer, Pascal Severin

Support through Amazon Web Services for project teams

During the development process of the product, the project team was supported by partners from Amazon Web Services (AWS). Lars Schmitz coached the teams at the beginning of the project in Amazon’s “Working Backwards” approach. An approach in which the customer’s problem is fundamentally analyzed and understood prior to the development phase. This process helped the team to thoroughly understand the client’s problem and thus develop an effective solution.

Dieses Co-Innovation Lab Projekt wurde in Kooperation mit dem Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) an der Hochschule München durchgeführt:
Das Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) der Hochschule München widmet sich den großen gesellschaftlichen Herausforderungen unserer Zeit. Zusammen mit Akteuren im öffentlichen Sektor entwickeln Studierende zukunftsweisende Lösungsansätze. Hierbei werden sie von Amazon Web Services mit state-of-the-art Cloud-Technologien und der Innovationsmethodik Working Backwards unterstützt. Wir leben digitale Transformation.

Weitere Informationen über das Co-Innovation Lab und das Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) an der Hochschule München:

Autoren: Team MOL 1

The voice assistant that gives facility management a refreshing appeal

CIL projects, DTLab_Coop

The Museum of London stores the capital of England’s long history from its settlers to modern times and welcomes over one million visitors each year. To realize its vision of becoming a “smart museum” and making use of resources efficiently, once again in the summer semester of 2022, the Museum of London shakes hands with the University of Applied Science Munich students and works together on another project. Accompanying the museum on the way to achieving its goal, a group of ten students has teamed up and developed a solution to integrate the use of the voice assistant ALLRight into facility management at the museum.

The Vision for 2023

Committed to engaging more people and constantly transforming to be a “New Museum”, knowing exactly where and when a malfunction in the building occurs is of great importance for all stakeholders. Within the scope of the previous cooperation projects between the Museum of London and the student teams at MUAS (Andreas Meuser, Syed Muhammed Ali Raza, Tobias Kuch, Lukas Förner, Simon Meier, Richard Nefzger, Florian Kaiser, Daniel Eberhard, Mai Linh Tran, Florian Horder), the main goal always involved the efficient consumption of resources and maintaining the best environment not only for the visitors but also for the preservation of the historical artifacts.

Hurdles in the way

“Usually, when at work, I was constantly concerned about the museum’s condition. I could not quickly and easily get reliable information about the temperatures and humidities in the galleries. I wanted accurate, reliable, and valid information to know that everything was alright”, John, facility manager at the Museum of London said.” However, with ALLright I feel more confident at getting the information I need at any time. And all that can be done simultaneously while I am working on my desk!” However, facility managers at the Museum of London have been having difficulty in quickly finding out the state of the building. Due to various data points and limited access to these data, it involves an inefficient and time-consuming process to pinpoint the problems with the functionality of the building, as they have to check various systems or ask around to find out what is wrong. Instead of having to go through all these troubles, they want to be granted easy and quick access to insights into the building’s functionality, and the most convenient way to get the information they need is via a voice assistant.

Delivering a valuable solution to solve the client’s problem

The intuitive voice assistant ALLRight was developed as a “Skill” based on the foundation of Amazon’s infamous voice assistant Alexa. It answers the 8 critical questions about the condition of the buildings at the Museum of London and gives information about occurring technical problems. With the voice assistant, facility managers can conveniently get a fast and simple overview of the current state of the building. The special feature of ALLRight is the interaction between it and the user as the skill has been developed to be able to include personalization and naturally converse with users.

“The team has surpassed my expectation!”, the client from the Museum of London, Steve Watson – Technical Building Lead – and John Iaciofano – Facility Manager – are very thrilled about the development of the voice assistant ALLRight from the early days until the prototype is completed.

 “ALLright is an exciting game-changer, which makes accessing building information easy, fun, and reliable.  Managing buildings is all about decision-making and ALLright informs me quickly of the relevant information to support important decisions.  This app is a glimpse into the future of building management”, Steve said. He also added when asked about future implementation potentials, “I see a future where buildings become much better structured at the data layer and then voice assistants will have a very rich source of information and analysis available.  Then I see voice assistants becoming more adept at natural language and also having a back-end learning capability that improves with specific buildings, their datasets, and their interactions.”

Dieses Co-Innovation Lab Projekt wurde in Kooperation mit dem Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) an der Hochschule München durchgeführt:
Das Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) der Hochschule München widmet sich den großen gesellschaftlichen Herausforderungen unserer Zeit. Zusammen mit Akteuren im öffentlichen Sektor entwickeln Studierende zukunftsweisende Lösungsansätze. Hierbei werden sie von Amazon Web Services mit state-of-the-art Cloud-Technologien und der Innovationsmethodik Working Backwards unterstützt. Wir leben digitale Transformation.

Weitere Informationen über das Co-Innovation Lab und das Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) an der Hochschule München:

Autoren: Mai Linh Tran

Creation of Audio Reports for Facility Managers at the Museum of London

CIL projects, DTLab_Coop

The Co-Innovation Lab of the Munich University of Applied Sciences enabled a team of its’ students to demonstrate their skills. As part of the project, they developed a web-based software solution for the Museum of London (MOL). The smartReport (SRP) application collects sensor data from the building and creates audio reports that are made available to the museums’ Facility Managers. The SRP provides a general overview, helps with long-term maintenance of the building, and supports day-to-day operations by providing building data in a convenient way.


Dashboard view to access the current status reports on the building data of the Museum of London Docklands.

Museum of London – A building full of history and innovative drive

The Museum of London Docklands is committed to maintaining its historical repertoire. The staff, as well as the public of London, share a great interest in presenting a part of their history to visitors from all over the world for years to come. With this in mind, it is important to roll out innovative technology and enable the facility managers to do so as best as possible.

A matter of heart – The need for novel software solutions in everyday life is apparent

Until now, facility managers struggled with cumbersome information processes: Long and complicated chains of communication, complex software systems, and a missing integrated overview. They wondered if it is possible to be informed more quickly about critical data such as the humidity or temperature. Enabled employees, that is exactly what the technical management of the Museum has at heart. They are behind a new innovative thrust and are willing to invest in new technical implementations.

Co-Innovation Lab develops a web app that informs the user about building data via audio

The user-friendly application makes the facility managers’ everyday work easier. They can flexibly access the status reports from any location in the building via web either on their mobile phones or on the desktop computers in the backoffice. For the facility managers, this means no more cumbersome trips to the backoffice and an immediate understanding of the health of the bulding conditions and risk exposures of important exhibits while on the museum floor. But SmartReport wouldn’t be smart if it didn’t have smart functions in it. In the case of the novel SmartReport app, they come in form of dynamically created audio reports from realtime building data. The big benefit: Facility managers can access and assess everything relevant while action and without any interruption of their ongoing tasks.

Build things people need – Amazon Web Services as technical and methodical support

The app was developed in cooperation with partners from Amazon AWS who coached the team throughout their project. A modern methodology called ‘Amazon Working Backwards’ was applied to emphasize and approach the need of the facility managers in London. Based on regular talks and reviews the prototype was created in small but quick iterations.

The management, as well as the facility managers, are enthusiastic about the new solution

During the solution presentation, the facility managers and more than ten other stakeholders from the Museum of London praised the successfully validated prototype. A lively review and enthusiastic discussion about the implementation and future use cases has proven that the project hit the needs and the students fullfilled the core philosophy behind the Co-Innovation approach.

“As far as I know, this is the very first time in the history of the Museum of London that audio reports were created from real data in London!” – Steve Watson,Technical Lead at the Museum of London Docklands

“I just wanted to say it has been great working with you on this. I really like how the team approached and recognized our need just to prove how it could be met in such a short time” – John Laciofano,Facility Manager of the MOL

Team members of the Co-Innovation project: Roles of the Scrum Process & Working Backward Process

This Co-Innovation Lab project was carried out in cooperation with the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:
The Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the major social challenges of our time. Together with stakeholders in the public sector, students develop forward-looking solutions. They are supported by Amazon Web Services with state-of-the-art cloud technologies and the Working Backwards innovation methodology. We live digital transformation.

More information about the Co-Innovation Lab and the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:

Wind power becomes digital

CIL projects, DTLab_Coop

The platform developed by HM students as part of the Co-Innovation Lab for the State Agency for Energy and Climate Protection (LENK) is intended to help mayors better inform their community about the topic of wind power in the future. LENK and the Co-Innovation Lab at Munich University of Applied Sciences worked together as part of a project in the period from March to July 2021.

Mayors will also be able to create, edit and manage projects independently in the future. A display also provides information about the potential earnings if the wind power plant had been fully operational from the start. (Source: www.lenk.de)

The State Agency for Energy and Climate Protection (LENK) is actively engaged in implementing the political requirements for the energy transition and climate protection. In doing so, it acts on the one hand as a competence and consulting agency of the Free State of Bavaria and on the other hand as a driving force for the implementation of climate policy measures. A particular focus is on the expansion of renewable energies, especially wind energy.

Wind energy to become more transparent

The client was represented by the project partners Ulrich Buchhauser (Head of the State Agency for Energy and Climate Protection) and Keywan Pour-Sartip (C.A.R.M.E.N. e.V). The 10-member student consulting team consisted of bachelor’s and master’s students from the business administration, design and computer science departments. Within the framework of the project, an innovative platform was created that will allow mayors to inform their citizens about the topic of wind power in a targeted and fact-based manner in the future. The aim is to eliminate the spread of misinformation as far as possible and to create transparency. A central point of contact for interested parties did not exist before the website was introduced.

Information platform and project management system on one website

In the future, mayors should also be able to plan, create and manage projects independently. A ready-made action plan also shows which measures still need to be taken so that the intended wind power project can be successfully implemented. An integrated site search as well as the linking with the map of the Energy Atlas of Bavaria also allows a precise planning of new projects.

Mayor and citizens are fully informed in the future

Keywan Pour-Sartip (C.A.R.M.E.N e.V) is also convinced by the innovative concept of the HM students: “As a result of this collaborative effort, we have succeeded in creating a platform that provides mayors with appropriate access to information and helps them support their wind energy projects.”

This Co-Innovation Lab project was carried out in cooperation with the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:
The Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the major social challenges of our time. Together with stakeholders in the public sector, students develop forward-looking solutions. They are supported by Amazon Web Services with state-of-the-art cloud technologies and the Working Backwards innovation methodology. We live digital transformation.

More information about the Co-Innovation Lab and the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:

Fit for the transformation of traffic in Munich with MUCmoves

CIL projects, DTLab_Coop

An interdisciplinary team of computer science and business administration students at Munich University of Applied Sciences has developed a digital platform that bundles traffic data from different sources in one place and allows Munich’s traffic planners to base projects on the traffic turnaround on reliable and high-quality mobility data.

Students present MUCmoves to the client and other stakeholders at the final event.

Planning transportation projects requires one thing above all else: lots of data. It should be complete and reliable and, if possible, cover all modes of transport. A reliable data basis is indispensable, especially for a project of the century such as the transformation of the transport system.

No transformation of traffic without data

“We are shaping the traffic turnaround for a sustainable, livable future” – this is the vision of the Munich Mobility Department. But this is precisely where the unit, which was founded in January 2021, faces a problem: The traffic planners lack reliable data on stationary and flowing traffic on which to base their projects. The data they have collected themselves from sensors, video recordings and manual counts is not sufficient – relying on assumptions and extrapolations is too risky for a project as large and important as the traffic turnaround.

As part of the project course “D3I-DB.3 Project Study: Digital Technologies” / “M1.5o & M4.13o Project Study” / “Software Architecture” at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, Mr. Attila Lüttmerding, Head of Department “Basis and Data” in the “Strategy” area of the Mobility Department, commissioned the twelve-member team of computer science and business administration students to improve the data situation on flowing traffic in Munich. The project took place in cooperation with the Co-Innovation Lab and the Digital Innovation Lab of Munich University of Applied Sciences.

MUCmoves – All of Munich’s traffic data in one place

MUCmoves, the students’ digital solution, is able to collect and standardize traffic data from a wide variety of sources in a central database. A filter function allows the user to select the location, time, date and mode of transport so that the traffic planners can display the traffic data relevant to them. Depending on preference, the data is visualized as a line, bar or radar chart and as a simple table. For further internal processing, the traffic data can be downloaded both as a table and as raw data.

Companies or individuals who want to make traffic data available can upload it to MUCmoves and thus increase the platform’s database. Since the mobility department can assign access rights for this, it is ensured that only reliable data sources are fed in.

Retrieve traffic data quickly, easily and securely

Thanks to MUCmoves’ central database, transportation planners now have the ability to more quickly retrieve data from different sources and compare it in one collected location. “It is a benefit that all data is collected in one place and no longer has to be looked up in several folders. Especially the data from the pedestrian zones will be helpful for our area,” Tobias Steurer from the mobility department praised the prototype at the final event.

This Co-Innovation Lab project was carried out in cooperation with the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:
The Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the major social challenges of our time. Together with stakeholders in the public sector, students develop forward-looking solutions. They are supported by Amazon Web Services with state-of-the-art cloud technologies and the Working Backwards innovation methodology. We live digital transformation.

More information about the Co-Innovation Lab and the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:

InSite – Seeing how a museum feels

CIL projects, DTLab_Coop

As part of the Co-Innovation Lab at Munich University of Applied Sciences, ten Master’s and Bachelor’s students from the faculties of Business Administration & IT developed and implemented a concept for data-driven facility management for the Museum of London (MoL) in the summer semester of 2021.

The project team at a virtual SPRINT review session in June 2021 (from left to right: Christof Huber – Team Developer (IT), Felix Volz – Team Product Owner, Philip Pastuschka – Team Developer (IT), Svitlana Kögel – Team Scrum Master; 2. Row: Maximilian Fitzenwenger Quintero – Team Developer (Business Administration), Dennis Pschibul – Team Developer (IT), Johannes Schwarz – Team Developer (Business Administration), Terea Auerbach – Team Developer (IT); 3rd row: Anuujin Munkhjargal – Team Developer (Business Administration), Niklas Biesold – Team Developer (Business Administration)) – Picture: Felix Volz

Dissolve dependencies

The Museum of London documents the history of the British capital from prehistoric times to modern times. A variety of exhibits are displayed in a number of galleries across the floors of the building, which require certain constant environmental conditions at all times, from which there should be no deviation. When errors occur, the facility manager (FM) should respond as quickly as possible.

Identifying and locating problems took an enormous amount of time and made the museum dependent on an outside service provider to access the data that was collected in the building, but this did not speed up the process or make it sustainable.

The central task was to integrate and visualize the existing building data on a platform in such a way that the facility manager can directly use it to gain a centralized, transparent and detailed insight into the building data in order to gain a better understanding of the building and to be able to react both more quickly and more independently to any changes.

Create real added value

For this purpose, the Museum of London, represented by Steve Watson (Client & Technical Lead, MoL) and John Iaciofano (Customer & Facility Manager, MoL), turned to the Co-Innovation Lab of the Munich University of Applied Sciences. The ten-member project team was supported by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Holger Günzel and Prof. Dr. Lars Brehm (both MUAS – Lecturer), the coaches Hans-Jürgen Haak (MUAS – Coach) and Lars Schmitz (Amazon – Coach), and the PhD student Maximilian Günzel (MUAS – SME).

Customer satisfaction at all levels

Steve Watson assesses the Co-Innovation Lab’s involvement as follows: “The project team took the first step for the Museum of London to make our building data comprehensible for us, and to enable more data-driven decisions. Technical, organizational as well as business aspects were highlighted. As a result, the work product provides a good basis for further planning in this area.”

This Co-Innovation Lab project was carried out in cooperation with the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:
The Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the major social challenges of our time. Together with stakeholders in the public sector, students develop forward-looking solutions. They are supported by Amazon Web Services with state-of-the-art cloud technologies and the Working Backwards innovation methodology. We live digital transformation.

More information about the Co-Innovation Lab and the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:

Evaluate online surveys quickly, accurately and cost-effectively with SurveySolver

CIL projects, DTLab_Coop

Co-developed by students at Munich University of Applied Sciences’ Co-Innovation Lab, the “SurveySolver” software supports Green City Experience (GCX) citizen participation processes, making sustainability and climate protection a priority for municipal decision-makers.

GCX conducts online citizen surveys to accompany large organizations, especially municipalities, in implementing climate-friendly urban development in the interest of the population. Through surveys and citizens’ councils in communities or municipalities, GCX identifies the needs and wishes of citizens and collects suggestions for urban development. This is intended to create a basis for implementing political projects in the interests of citizens with a particular focus on climate protection.

With SurveySolver, the interdisciplinary team, consisting of students from the departments of computer science, business administration and design, has developed a tool that makes it easier for Marianne Pfaffinger – Head of Participation at GCX – and her colleagues to cluster text responses in citizen surveys and to present them clearly after their evaluation.

“It is amazing what you have already achieved in such a short time. The results show me and my team that the evaluation process of our qualitative surveys will be much easier in the future. With SurveySolver, we save time and human resources that benefit other climate protection projects .” – Green City Experience GmbH, Pia Bolkart

The students are proud to contribute to more sustainability and a better implementation of climate protection projects with this project. Through the framework of the Co-Innovation Lab, Julia Horvat (Project Owner), Cindy Hilbig (Scrum Master), Wolfram Barth, Florian Breuer, Hubert Fuchs, Bettina Nuscheler, Amadeus Schmid, Lucia Thomas, Andreas Urlberger and Michael Vogginger (Developer) were able to carry out an IT project in a creative process, practically learning methods such as Working Backwards and SCRUM. In addition, the challenges as a consultant in a SCRUM project could be learned and experienced. This process was supported in particular by Hans-Jürgen Haak and additionally by Prof. Dr. Lars Brehm (Faculty of Business Administration), Prof. Dr. Holger Günzel ( Faculty of Business Administration), Prof. Dr. Johannes Ebke ( Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics) and Lars Schmitz (Digital Innovation Lead, Amazon Web Services).

This Co-Innovation Lab project was carried out in cooperation with the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:
The Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the major social challenges of our time. Together with stakeholders in the public sector, students develop forward-looking solutions. They are supported by Amazon Web Services with state-of-the-art cloud technologies and the Working Backwards innovation methodology. We live digital transformation.

More information about the Co-Innovation Lab and the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:

Using BEMS to calculate CO₂ equivalents generated by air travel

CIL projects, DTLab_Coop

Students from the Co-Innovation Lab develop software for the Bavarian State Agency for Energy and Climate Protection (LENK). The Bavarian Emission Measurement System (BEMS) records air travel by the immediate state administration and automatically calculates the CO₂ equivalents generated. BEMS thus creates the prerequisite for subsequent offsetting of air travel.

The core result of the project: an intuitive input mask for air travel that automatically calculates CO2 equivalents generated (project team’s own presentation).

Climate protection has arrived in the everyday life of the immediate state administration

The State Agency for Energy and Climate Protection (LENK) is currently implementing a Council of Ministers resolution under which the CO₂ equivalents generated by official air travel by the immediate state administration must be offset from 2020. The initiative is part of the implementation of the Bavarian Climate Protection Act, under which Bavaria is to be climate-neutral by 2040.

Complicated processes complicate LENK’s work – cooperation with the Co-Innovation Lab helps

In the absence of an automated recording tool, LENK decided to use standardized Excel spreadsheets to query the individual departments for air travel data, which it then compiles in LENK and calculates the kilometers flown and the emissions incurred. Since this process cannot be a permanent solution, LENK entered into cooperation with the Co-Innovation Lab at Munich University of Applied Sciences. As part of the project, the eleven-member team of business administration and computer science students worked closely with their coaches from the Co-Innovation Lab, lecturers and contact persons at LENK.

Co-Innovation Lab develops intuitive web application for flight data collection

The Bavarian Emission Measurement System (BEMS) facilitates flight input for employees of the immediate state administration through an intuitive interface and step-by-step guidance through the input process. A control function prevents input errors from occurring. The export and import function, which makes it possible to save several flights in the system at once, also makes work easier. A clear dashboard facilitates data evaluation for the individual departments and LENK. For LENK, the software forms the basis for subsequent compensation by recording air travel nationwide and automatically calculating the CO₂ equivalents generated.

The state agency for energy and climate protection is convinced of the result

The successful implementation of the project attracted a great deal of attention. The final presentation was attended not only by people from Bavarian authorities, but also from Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and from the coordination office for the Climate Neutral Federal Authority at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

The contact persons at LENK summarize: “Since the students discussed the progress of the tool with us every two weeks, we were able to express wishes and point out open points during the development. Everyone was very committed to the project, and the result is impressive: BEMS simplifies the entry of data for the responsible travel offices at the authorities, the flight kilometers are determined on the basis of the great circle distances between the airports entered, and the greenhouse gas emissions generated are calculated automatically. It thus fulfills all the requirements we had set for the recording and balancing tool from a technical point of view.”

Virtual team meeting: The project team Muhammet Gündeydi, Robin Roth, Elena Laufs, Tamara Camelo-Hintsche, Aleksandar Culafic, Lino Deppe, Markus Laubsch, Muharram Davlatova, Bryan J. Liegsalz, Pascal Severin, Tobias Finsterwalder

This Co-Innovation Lab project was carried out in cooperation with the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:
The Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the major social challenges of our time. Together with stakeholders in the public sector, students develop forward-looking solutions. They are supported by Amazon Web Services with state-of-the-art cloud technologies and the Working Backwards innovation methodology. We live digital transformation.

More information about the Co-Innovation Lab and the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences: