InnovEd4TS Field mission #4 - Case Competition "Stay Relevant": Using academic knowledge in practice

The Case Competition "Stay relevant" is an annual initiative targeted at bachelor students from the School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University, as well as the study programme Strategic Communication. In collaboration with their peers, the students use their academic knowledge to find solutions to issues that a variety of local businesses are facing. The initiative is supported by the Aarhus Municipality and the Aarhus Business Council. 

This year, the competition lasted 4 days. Experts from Louvain, Oslo, Lisbon, Paris and Humboldt could witness the sessions of the Case Competition during the field mission. The students were introduced to "design thinking" by Lasse Chor, an external consultant from his own company, Happy 42 (http://happy42.dk), a Danish consulting firm in communication. Then, the students worked in groups together with Lasse and professors on study cases that were collected by Aarhus Municipality from local businesses. Students worked collectively and provided solutions to the challenges. They were then trained to pitch their solution to a panel of judges made up of professors from Aarhus University, representatives of Aarhus municipality and local businesses.

The judges evaluated groups according to their ability to pitch, but also on the proposed solutions.  The competition counted with three prizes: the audience prize given by the audience vote, the WTF prize (for creativity) and the jury prize (for the solution and the pitch).

The case competition at Aarhus University focused on three transferable skills.

	Experts found that the students got the opportunity to develop their creativity, which was the focal point of this course. In fact, they needed to put a great deal of effort into the brainstorming part to deliver on time and make collective decisions in a small amount of time. In addition, they had to assimilate into an entirely different environment, namely the "business world". They needed to carefully assess the cases in order to design realistic solutions.
	Another skill that students were able to develop, according to the experts, is teamwork. In fact, this project highly relies on the ability of students to get together and design solutions as a team.
	Critical thinking was also at stake. Students had to integrate feedback and refine their work. They had to gain awareness about their own skills and shortcomings.

Additional Skills - thanks to Covid

Experts were very positive about the Case competition initiative. They highlighted how the students could develop their skills in relation to designing processes. Students learn how to pitch ideas and show potential employers what they can do. This initiative allows them to use theoretical knowledge to solve real business problems, such as developing a communication plan/strategy for a hostel and event space post covid-19 or updating the image-related communication of a science museum. The students also have the opportunity to learn more about business life and gain insights into critical thinking.

In addition to creativity, teamwork and critical thinking, the case competition helped students develop oral communication and problem-solving. Students work on their oral communication skills with the aim of being convincing when pitching their projects to the jury. This year, students had to enlarge and gain additional skills due to the COVID-19 pandemic as they pitched on Zoom, which gave them the opportunity to experiment with new ways and approaches for their presentations. 

Bridging the gap between university studies and working life

The involvement of external stakeholders, be it business or local authorities, is key to the project. The municipality acts like a moderator and is responsible for prospection, focusing on finding small, local companies.  The companies play an active part in the case competition as they draft the cases, answer the students' questions and judge the pitches. Lasse Chor, the Moderator of the Case Competition initiative and external consultant, emphasised the importance for students to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and the experience gained in the fieldwork: "The knowledge gained at the university, combined with the experience in the first years of the career, is the basis for doing something creative."

Students' Perspective: from theory to pitching solutions

Two students, Nanna Egeberg Andersen and Anne-Sofie Lyngbak, took part in the meeting with the experts. Their case was related to the Natural History Museum of the City of Aarhus. Their group was made up of two other students, Anna Ræbild and Magnus Kræpping. They highlighted the fact that they very much enjoyed working with Lasse Chor as his personality and sense of humour helped them work together on the cases. Additionally, they grasped the importance of using their theoretical knowledge to make a presentation in front of the company. They acknowledged that it can be challenging to present a pitch in a limited time frame. It required them to adapt their vocabulary. The exercise served as a way to analyse an extensive amount of information in an extremely short time span.  

Looking ahead: Integrating peer awards & Internationalisation

Experts found that the format of the project was very inspiring. They suggested that an additional prize might be added to the competition: the peer-review award, which would go into more detail than the audience award, which is essentially a vote at the moment. This would have the students reviewing the projects of their peers and develop more critical thinking skills. Another way to do so would be to add a final assignment that would consist of self-assessing what they have learned. 

Experts were enthusiastic about the possibility that this initiative could be internationalised through the involvement of international students or by becoming a Circle U. initiative that would enable the entire project to go from local to global.

Students who participated in the field mission: 

• Nanna Egeberg Andersen 
• Anne-Sofie Lyngbak

Fact Box and Definitions

The InnovEd4TS Project (Innovative Education for Transferable Skills) focuses on the analysis and development of initiatives that promote the acquisition of transferable skills among students.

The Booklet

The booklet is a tool which serves as the basis for group discussion on the transferable skills developed by flagship initiatives.

Booklet (pdf)