These are the three challenges for the Students Sprint 2026. Which challenge would you like to work on?
Show your preference (1 - high preference to 3 - low preference)
Company: Brandnamic
Title: Reimagining South Tyrol as a year-round tourist destination
Challenge:
Many hospitality structures in South Tyrol are fully booked during peak seasons but struggle with low occupancy during the off-season, especially in April–June and October–November. This puts pressure on staff and leads to financial losses, while visitors travelling during peak periods often face overcrowded conditions. These dynamics also lead to sustainability challenges for the destination.
At Brandnamic, a South Tyrolean marketing agency, we aim to help local hospitality businesses achieve more balanced occupancy, enhance guest satisfaction, and promote sustainable tourism.
The challenge is to design creative, informed, data-driven strategies to make South Tyrol a vibrant year-round destination. You will identify new guest segments for the low seasons and find opportunities to encourage existing visitors to travel during off-peak periods. Then, you will create innovative ideas or campaigns that attract travellers, deliver authentic experiences, and support sustainable growth.
Our data, tourism statistics, and expert insights will guide and inspire your design decisions.
Company: Prinoth
Title: Unlocking the all-year-round potential of snow groomer batteries
Challenge:
At Prinoth, we design and build electrified snow groomers that keep ski slopes in South Tyrol and beyond in perfect condition. These high-performance vehicles are used intensively throughout the winter season, but once the snow melts, they are left idle for months. During this time, their large and valuable batteries, which represent up to half of the vehicle’s total value, are left unused. We see this as an exciting opportunity: what if these powerful batteries could have a second life beyond the ski season? How might they be repurposed or reimagined to create value in other contexts?
Your challenge is to develop innovative and sustainable business models that would make this possible. Imagine how different approaches, such as buy-versus-rent, pay-per-use, or entirely new concepts, could maximise battery utilisation, reduce the total cost of ownership for customers, and open new revenue streams for Prinoth. When shaping your idea, consider aspects such as ownership and responsibility, maintenance and lifecycle management, sustainability impact, customer relationships, and the potential of digital tools or platforms to support implementation.
Company: Raiffeisen Überetsch
Title: Reimagining Cooperative Banking for a New Generation
Challenge:
Raiffeisenkasse Überetsch is a cooperative bank that reinvests its profits in the local community, supporting families, associations, and initiatives that strengthen the social fabric of our region. Unlike traditional banks, we are built on a model of trust, participation, and human connection. However, many younger clients are unaware of this difference. We’re inviting you to help us rethink what it means to be a member of a cooperative bank today: how can we make membership more engaging, meaningful, and visible to younger generations, while continuing to involve and satisfy our long-standing members?
Your challenge is to design a new membership experience that goes beyond financial benefits, fosters emotional connections, and encourages active participation through both analogue and digital means. The goal is to make people feel proud to belong to a living, community-centred bank that listens to its members, supports them, and grows alongside them.
Please note: we are not looking for an app.
