The focus of Prof. Patricia Franzreb's subject "UX Design" (User Experience) in the winter semester 2020/2021 was the question "How can we optimise the medical treatment of people with regard to their individual needs and circumstances? The students competed against each other in an ideas competition. For the best suggestions, the cooperation partner, the company Uhlmann Pac-Systeme from Laupheim, provided a total of 1,000 euros in donation credit: The first place winners will receive 500 euros, second place will receive 350 euros and third place will receive 150 euros in donations for a non-profit organisation of their choice.
52 students of the Information Management and Corporate Communication (IMUK) degree programme, divided into nine groups, worked on answers to the question about the individual medical treatment of people. For this purpose, they developed so-called personas: fictitious members of a certain target group. Based on the imaginary personas, the students developed new ideas and implemented them as prototypes.
Cooperation projects as a win-win situation for students and companies
At an interim presentation, each group presented Prof. Franzreb and the representatives of Uhlmann with one idea that was realistically feasible and one idea that was described as a "future idea". The cooperation partners agreed on one of the ideas, on which the students continued to work. Finally, the final presentation of the groups took place at the end of January 2021. More than 70 people took part in the online event, including almost 20 from Uhlmann.
Student Peer Kieweg says: "The cooperation with Uhlmann was super, we were especially pleased how many Uhlmann employees followed our presentation." Prof. Patricia Franzreb was also very pleased with the cooperation with the company: "Especially in the area of user experience, cooperation projects are a clear win-win for companies and students. Open problems from practice help students to focus and develop really relevant solutions."
Cooling system for medicinal products, medicine cabinet for the blind and emergency kit for epileptics
Uhlmann representatives Jessica Wahl and Dr. Anna Hörner evaluated the projects presented according to the criteria of methodology (familiarisation, research), idea (uniqueness, innovativeness, relevance, potential/Uhlmann fit) and presentation (design, persuasiveness, prototype). The first two places were awarded by Uhlmann, the third place was decided by the students in a survey. First place went to "Clide", a smart cooling system for medicinal products, second place went to the team with the smart medicine cabinet "MEVA" and third place went to the team that thought up an emergency card for epilepsy.
Prof. Patrica Franzreb was impressed by the cooperation: "The cooperation with Uhlmann has greatly enriched the User Experience Project. We gained valuable insights into the medical industry, were able to develop visionary, human-centred ideas and, in the end, were able to convince with innovative pitch presentations. Thank you for this great collaboration and appreciation!"
Nicolas Mundbrod, who heads IT and the Digital Lab at the Uhlmann Group, is also positive: "We are very pleased that the cooperation between HNU and Uhlmann has once again produced such innovative results. The "out-of-the-box" thinking of the students and of Prof. Franzreb enriches our innovation process with completely new impulses, and the cooperation is simply a win-win for both sides. Finally, it is particularly noteworthy that we were able to combine the awarding of the best approaches with donations for a good cause.
Overview of the winning projects
Place 1:
Smart cooling system for pharmaceutical products
Katharina Rupp and her team members have designed an individual cooling system: "Clide (Cooling + Slide) is a mobile and stylish cooling option for medicines. Our target group is people of all ages who are on the go a lot and don't feel like lugging around large cooling bags. The cooler is available in different sizes with either active or passive cooling. The cooling battery can be attached to a drinking bottle, a key ring or a mobile phone. So the saying goes: Individuality." For them, the cooperation project was a challenge in a positive sense: "In the "UX Project" course, we were able to unite our ideas with the expertise and product portfolio, learning a lot about a market that is rather foreign to us. Finding the interface between possible ideas and the core competence of the company was not easy, but nevertheless very exciting."
Donation: 500 euros to the "German Doctors" organisation
Place 2:
Intelligent medicine cabinet for the blind
The project team reports: "We want to make it as easy and safe as possible for blind people and people with a visual impairment to store and take medication with our intelligent medicine cabinet MEVA. That is why our medicine cabinet is equipped with artificial intelligence. This speaks with the user. For example, the medicine cabinet offers a reminder function, answers questions about the package insert and uses a vibration function to show in which compartment the medicines are stored or which compartment is free for storing additional medicines." The team members liked the fact that the project took place within the framework of a cooperation: "We find it very good to work with a cooperation partner like Uhlmann, this way you get to know the company better and feel involved".
Donation: 350 euros to UN Refugee Aid
Place 3:
Personalised emergency kit for epileptics
The team of the Emergency Card for Epileptics describes the basic idea of their project as follows: "Nobody would like to get into a situation where they feel helpless. Our idea is to help people do the right thing." The students rate cooperation projects positively: "You get involved with the needs of the customer and try to get the best possible out of it. In the process, you get an insight into how things might work later on in your professional life.
Donation: 150 euros to the Dash animal welfare association in Greece
