Interdisciplinary teams of students are applying design-thinking methodologies to turn some of ATTRACT’s 170 breakthrough projects into valuable products and services for society.

Masters in Management students from across Europe at Esade Business School and Aalto University have launched a pilot to help ATTRACT projects turn their breakthrough detection and imaging technologies into business solutions.

After selecting promising technologies from the 170 ATTRACT projects, the Young Innovator & Entrepreneurs pilot is bringing together multidisciplinary teams of students to create sustainable products and services for society.

“The pilot is bringing together multidisciplinary teams of students to create sustainable products and services for society”

Aalto University and Esade students are using design-thinking methodologies to create sustainable ideas. Their goal is to help ATTRACT scientists explore how their breakthrough technology could be transformed into pioneering innovations with big market potential.

Design thinking for society

The first step in the pilot is to establish a clear societal need and then identify potential innovations to meet it enabled by ATTRACT’s breakthrough technologies.

Scientists from the selected ATTRACT projects are interacting with the students to explain the basic concepts of the breakthrough technologies they are currently developing. The students are using these insights to identify opportunities where the technologies could be used to solve societal challenges.

The interdisciplinary teams of Esade and Aalto University students will present their prototype solutions at the ATTRACT Final Conference ‘Igniting the deep tech revolution’, which will be held in Brussels on the 22nd and 23rd of September 2020.

The Young Innovator & Entrepreneurs pilot aims to boost ATTRACT’s fundamental research, industrial applications and social innovation.