On 29th April, the International University Contest (IUC), organised and sponsored by Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe (Konica Minolta), took place in Berlin, Germany.In organising the contest, Konica Minolta aimed to support tertiary education institutions to build the digital campus.For the past year, students from international universities had the unique opportunity to work with Konica Minolta to analyse a current document or information workflow within their university and propose an innovative improvement. The winner of the year-long contest wasthe Vaal Technical University of South Africa.As reason for its decision, the jury gave the environmentalbenefitsincluding less wasteand reduced paper consumption. The winner team consisting of fivestudents will now spend four days in Vienna visiting the Pioneers Festival 2017 this June.
Busisiwe Rekhostso, a student from the winning team from the Vaal Technical University of South Africa, emphasised “The contest was a wonderful experience and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet new and interesting people. Over the course of the competition, I spent many hours with many different people, listening to them and talking with them about their goals and plans for the future. It was incredibly exciting to be able to compete and interact with them. The experience has been tremendously rewarding and beyond breathtaking.“ And Prince Madumise, another student from the winning team, adds: “Thank you for the opportunity you gave us. We had an amazing time in Berlin. We still, after the trip, cannot believe we were in a distant foreign land.” In June, the 5 winners will attend the Pioneers Festival in Vienna, Austria, where smart start-ups present innovations of the future (1-2 June 2017).
Top-Class Jury and Speakers
The winning team was chosen by a top-class jury consisting of renowned members such as Alastair Creelman, a leading e-learning specialist from Linnaeus University, based in Sweden, and Steven Swift, founder of the IMPSGA alliance and industry analyst.
Speakers completing the event included Oliver Csendes, CEO of Pioneers, who provided an overview of this year’s Pioneers Festival, and Milan Lakhani, client principal and innovation strategist within Konica Minolta’s European Business Innovation Centre (BIC), who gave an insight into Konica Minolta’s approach to innovation.
IUC 2018
Following on from the success of this year’s contest, Konica Minolta has decided to run the competition again in 2018.
For further information about the Konica Minolta International University Contest, please visit: http://iuc.konicaminolta.eu/