Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. We took the step to a 3-month long 4-day week pilot project at ekipa, effective July 1, 2023 until September 30, 2023.
Why? Because we want to create a place that promotes mental health, strengthens employee loyalty, and encourages innovation.
How? Smoothly. Our office days are from Monday to Thursday and we will get back to your e-mail requests within two working days.
Our Q&A Calls for Innovation Challenges will remain scheduled on Tuesdays from 11:00-11:30 a.m. (cest) and on Thursdays from 17:00-17:30 p.m. (cest). And if you are an organizational innovator like us, here's a run-down about our 4-day week and how we will stay organized internally and externally. If you have any questions about our challenges, the 4-day week or ekipa in general, feel free to reach out to us via e-mail at any time. We will be happy to get in touch with you!

On our platform, you will find challenges on a wide range of topics. From the digitization of analog industries or products, to the development of new business models, to the development of strategies, concepts or prototypes, everything is included. However, all of our challenges have one thing in common: they are always about future topics that can't be solved as well by anyone else as they can by you: young, ambitious people with great ideas.

First of all, you can register by clicking the "Register" button on the homepage. Then you have to enter your name, your e-mail address and a password with at least 6 characters. Before you can participate in a challenge, however, you must complete your Innovator profile. For example, you can enter your background and your university.

Then comes the most important information: Your skills.

These are used to find suitable team members for you in certain challenges and to show other potential participants and teams what you can contribute to a great solution. So think carefully about which skills you list and how you describe them. You can also optionally link your LinkedIn profile and include your phone number.

Need guidance? Check out our tutorial: Get startet!

To participate, you have to click on the challenge and the „Take part“ button. You then select whether you want to take part alone or in a team. To be considered, you must then upload your submission template before the given deadline. It is fairly easy!

Need guidance? Check out our tutorial: Join a challenge!

To submit your submission template, you simply have to save your template as a PDF and upload it in your workspace. If you already have a pitch deck or other material that supports your idea, feel free to upload this too and refer it in the submission template.

Need guidance? Check out our tutorial: Join a challenge!

If you want to participate in a challenge but don't have a team yet, we offer several ways to find one. For example, you can choose to join a team when you register. Then you will find an overview of teams that are still looking for members. You can then contact these teams on your own and join them. The second option is to use our Team Matching Channel Slack, where you can connect with others interested in the Challenge. Lastly, you can always join one of our Q&A Calls where you can directly speak to other interested people.

Need guidance? Check out our tutorial: Team up!

We use Slack as a collaboration tool to connect you with us as well as other participants. Through slack you can connect with our project managers who will help you refine your idea or connect with your ideal team-mates.

Need guidance? Check out our tutorial: Find Team Members!

In the calls, we explain everything about the challenges, from registration and brainstorming to submission and the rest of the process. There is also the opportunity to get to know other participants and possibly already form teams. Of course, there will always be time for your own questions and open issues, which we will address individually during the calls.

To take part in a Q&A Call, you can find the link to the Call on the respective challenge page under "Brief". The calls are held weekly and you can participate however often you want.

Channel we also have a chat function on our website to directly talk to our team. Simply click on the challenge you are interested in. In the lower right corner you will then see a pink speech bubble. By clicking on it, you will be directed to one of our collegues who will answer you matter as soon as possible.

The participation is for free.

Since the projects and challenges as well as the possibilities for further cooperation after the project are very different, the legal framework is regulated individually for each project. This means that each challenge and each project format has its own conditions of participation in which the legal framework is defined.

Our challenges attract participants from all over the world. You can participate from anywhere, as participation is mostly remote. In some cases, participation is limited to a certain region, as events are also held locally. If this is the case, this information is always transparent

For the Qualification Phase the solution only has to be a high-level draft. Your solution does not have to be fully developed in detail and you do not have to provide a prototype. What is important is that you explain your idea well, what problem it solves and what impact it will have. It also always has to de adapted to the challenge briefing, so try to make sure that you fully understand what solution the challenge provider tries to find out. Just give it a try!