Developing solutions together for a more sustainable future

Five students from Optima participated in the "Smart Green Island Makethon 2023" on the Canary Island of Gran Canaria at the beginning of March. The Makeathon was organized for the sixth time by ITQ GmbH. More than 600 people from 29 countries, aged 6 to 66 years from about 40 universities and about 30 sponsors and partner companies participated. The goal of the participants was to develop a technical solution from the fields of digitalization and sustainability. Optima students decided to convert a battery-powered e-scooter to use solar energy.

How can e-mobility be made even more sustainable for short distances? Five Optima students answered this question at the Smart Green Island Makeathon in Gran Canaria. Together with other students, they converted an e-scooter to solar power. "On the one hand, the Makeathon offers eager and inquisitive students the opportunity to develop their knowledge in interdisciplinary teams and work on their ideas using the materials and software programs provided. On the other hand, they get to know other students and companies and can thus learn from each other and broaden their horizons," says Verena Konz from Optima Human Resources Development, describing the benefits of the event. The participants agreed that it was an exciting and innovative event, where many new suggestions and ideas for future projects could be taken away.

Around 30 sponsors and partners such as B&R, Murr Elektronik, igus, Beckhoff, Trumpf and Packaging Valley as well as some 40 universities, institutions and vocational schools such as Aalen University of Applied Sciences, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) were represented on site. Gran Canaria is ideally suited as a venue, because many sustainable ideas can be explored and tested on the basis of the wind and the sun. The term "Makeathon" is made up of the words "make" and "marathon". It is a special live event where participants spend several days developing and presenting a software or hardware project created from scratch. Students who are studying in the technical field and aspire to careers such as programmers, developers, engineers and designers, and who are also interested in contributing their ideas as well as their know-how and developing this further in a team, are invited to take part.

A Makeathon will also be held in Schwäbisch Hall this year. The Packaging Valley Germany e.V. association and ITQ GmbH are organizing the "Packaging Valley Makeathon" from November 21 to 22, 2023. Here, too, the focus will be on the trend topics of sustainability and digitalization. The Makeathon will be held at Optima and other companies in the region.