Category: DTLab_Coop

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:

gridX stands for sustainability

CIL projects, DTLab_Coop

As part of the Co-Innovation Lab at Munich University of Applied Sciences, eleven students are helping gridX to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability to the public. The interdisciplinary project team lays the foundation for a transparent sustainability commitment of the company.

The topic of sustainability is becoming increasingly relevant in all areas of life. It is therefore also important for companies to commit themselves to sustainability – especially since sustainability commitment is playing an increasingly important role in the battle for applicants. Companies face the challenge of transparently communicating their environmental, social and economic impact. Currently, it is difficult for job seekers to find information about the sustainable commitment of potential employers. But especially in the current war for talents, companies need to transparently communicate their attractiveness as an employer to the outside world. gridX has recognized this need for action and wants to become active by integrating a sustainability dashboard on the company website.

In the period from March to July 2021, eleven interdisciplinary students from Munich University of Applied Sciences, supported by their coach Prof. Dr.-Ing Holger Günzel (and the other event participants Prof. Dr. Lars Brehm, Prof. Dr. Johannes Ebke, Hans-Jürgen Haak and Lars Schmitz), designed and developed a prototype for an innovative sustainability dashboard for the company gridX – a startup that aims to make a long-term contribution to the energy transition with its products. From the company side, Henry Thierhoff, employee in the Business Intelligence & Marketing department, cooperated with the students and reports enthusiastically about the result of the project: “Especially as a greentech company, it is important for us not only to develop sustainable products, but also to act sustainably as a company. The dashboard helps us to communicate our commitment transparently and we hope to attract new employees who will join us in driving forward the energy transition.”

By implementing the Sustainability Dashboard, gridX is able to stand out from the competition as an employer by displaying all relevant sustainability performance in a bundled, transparent and understandable way in one place on the website.

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: