Open innovation challenges within universities are not new. Many companies have used them in the past, as a tool to find new ideas to redirect their businesses for the future and a channel to access top-tier talent. With a privileged connection to that talent and the goal of being an open community and a co-created projected from the very beginning of the Carcavelos Campus, Nova SBE takes another step towards the campus of the future, together with its most precious asset: the students.

Nova SBE Digital Experience Lab and Nova SBE Entrepreneurship Hub joined forces, found the right technological partners -Schréder-Hyperion, Sonae, Outsystems, Bright Pixel, and Taikai -, and developed an innovation challenge named PULSE. The main goal was to encourage the young minds who live the space every day to imagine and design new on-campus solutions enabled by technology. From ideation to the demonstration, for 5 months, the teams who participate undertake several activities to not only evolve their ideas but also to enhance their skillset in entrepreneurship, innovation, and digital experiences. Afterward, the best final works are awarded a money prize.

In the first edition, this year, 5 teams made it to the final stage: Nova Study, Dim Room for Bright Minds, Nova Library App, Nova Maps, and Nova Canteen App. These ideas were mainly connected to well-being and life at Nova SBE and improving and maintaining study spaces. The first prizewinner of 2000€ was the Nova Study Project, an app to facilitate students' lives during exam season by helping them to locate free study spaces in the library. The second and third places, which amount to 1000€ and 500€ respectively, were awarded to Nova Canteen App and Nova Maps that, as their names indicate, consist of helping students pre-order and pre-pay their meals and find their way around campus.

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