International Industry Project - Exchange Program for Industrial Engineering Students

The project follows a design-driven innovation process and is organised into clearly defined phases:

• Kick-off: Introduction to the project, team, coaches and company context
• Analysis: Identification of user needs and evaluation of development opportunities
• Ideation: Generation and selection of solution concepts
• Experimentation: Testing of key assumptions and development of initial prototypes (e.g. MVPs)
• Prototyping: Development and refinement of functional prototypes
• Business Development: Evaluation of business models and definition of implementation strategies
• Final Presentation: Documentation and presentation of results to stakeholders 

This structured approach supports a systematic development from initial idea to validated concept and business case. 

The International Industry Project is embedded in a network of Swiss industrial partners from different sectors. These companies act as project owners, define real-world challenges and accompany the project through regular feedback and exchange.

This collaboration ensures a close connection between academic learning and current industry practices, while giving students insight into different business environments.

The project provides companies with the opportunity to address specific innovation and development questions in collaboration with OST and an international student team.

Industry partners benefit from:

• new perspectives on existing challenges
• structured concept and prototype development
• application of design-driven innovation methods
• access to qualified and motivated students
• exchange with academic experts 

The results are practice-oriented and can support further internal development and decision-making.

In the current programme cycle, the project is conducted in collaboration with Bühler AG within SPARK (Space for Prototyping, Applied Research and Kickstart).

SPARK is a joint collaboration environment between OST and Bühler AG, located within the CUBIC Innovation Campus in Uzwil. It provides a shared space for prototyping, applied research and early-stage development, where students, researchers and industry experts work together on innovation challenges.

Students work in international teams and are supported throughout the project by:

• Academic coaches, who provide methodological input and guidance
• Industry representatives, who act as project owners and domain experts 

This structure enables continuous exchange between academia and industry and supports the application of methods in a real project setting. 

Through the project, students:

• work on real cases for Swiss industrial companies
• apply methods within a design-driven development process
• gain experience with prototyping tools and techniques
• develop an understanding of industrial and business contexts
• collaborate in an international and interdisciplinary environment