Towards open school: how to organize innovation contests with students?

Abstract

This paper deals with open school, a new concept in higher education. Open school describes a new form of co-creation with students who become active contributors and knowledge producers at the university. To involve students appropriately in an open school environment, innovation contests provide a suitable solution approach; they enable students to work collaboratively on a set of different tasks and activities. However, innovation contests with students should be designed adequately, in order for the open school concept to achieve its objectives. A framework with eight design elements shows the main dimensions that must be taken into account when organizing innovation contests with students. The settings of two innovation contests initiated at the University of Leipzig are compared against each other by using this framework. These settings reveal advantages, but also problems that should be solved in the future.