A total of 98 project teams - an increase of over 50 percent compared to the previous year - took part in the competition organized by WU Vienna and the eXplore! initiative. This year's challenge was not only characterized by strong international participation, but also by a wide range of institutions. There were participants from 24 universities and 8 schools from Austria and abroad. With women making up around 49% of the participants, the gender distribution was also more balanced than ever before.

With the Business Case Challenge Day and the VALPOP Roundtables, the format was expanded this year for the first time to include new, practical elements that promoted the exchange between young talents and company representatives and deepened the learning process beyond traditional competition formats.

An evening dedicated to entrepreneurial solutions and sustainable ideas

The Award Ceremony program reflected the central objective of the Business Case Challenge: to bring young talents together with established companies in the search for forward-looking business models. The program kicked off with the VALPOP roundtables, where pupils and students discussed their proposed solutions to the business cases of Austrian Airlines, OMV and Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien with representatives of the companies in moderated groups.

This was followed by the official opening by the two initiators of the Business Case Challenge, Michael Tojner and Jonas Puck, who emphasized: "We need clever, creative minds who are willing to take on responsibility. With formats such as the Business Case Challenge, we not only promote entrepreneurship, but also the culture of innovation in Austria."

Former BCC participant Elias Aruna, who is now a successful co-founder of the Berlin start-up Scale Energy, illustrated how a case study can be turned into a real company. In his keynote speech "From BCC to Berlin", he gave the pupils and students insights into the challenges and opportunities on the way to their own company.

The focus of the evening was on awarding prizes to the winning teams. Among the students, the three best teams - one per case study from Austrian Airlines, OMV and Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien - were each awarded prize money of EUR 1,500. The best two teams of pupils were honored. They each received 1,000 euros. The prize-winning entries ranged from innovative concepts for promoting social sustainability in the aviation sector to solutions for reducing industrial emissions and approaches for greater financial inclusion. They impressively demonstrated how creatively and practically young talents solve entrepreneurial challenges and what added value they can create for real companies.

About the Business Case Challenge

The Business Case Challenge is a non-profit ideas competition organized by the eXplore! Initiatiative and the Vienna University of Economics and Business in cooperation with leading Austrian companies. It is aimed at pupils and students at all universities and universities of applied sciences. The Business Case Challenge was launched in 2020 by the two initiators DDr. Michael Tojner and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jonas Puck with the aim of providing a platform where pupils and students have the opportunity to contribute to solving current challenges facing Austrian companies and to develop innovative ideas in the process.