Volkswagen Group Italia Hackathon 2018: a non- stop 24 hour experience to plan the future
The management of Volkswagen Group Italia was engaged in a captivating Hackathon. The aim: developing ideas and innovative projects and finding solutions for tomorrow’s challenges.
Hackathon is a neologism that was born from the combination of the words hacker and marathon, and consists of a full 24-hour stint, during which the biggest creativity and originality were requested to the participants; a non-stop marathon inspired to technology start-ups and Design Thinking and organized by H-FARM (Innovation platform able to support the creation of new models of business and the transformation and education of young people and companies in a digital perspective).
“The motivation that brought to the decision of promoting an H–ACK was to give acceleration to our change process and the will to make Volkswagen Group Italia even more competitive and leading in the Italian market” stated Massimo Nordio, CEO of the Italian subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.
The topics on which the 80 managers, split into teams, were challenged at the beginning of July were innovative company processes, concrete projects that ranged from new mobility services, the company position in Italy, to new concepts of affinity to customers and corporate culture. A 24 hours experience of brainstorming, debates and intense confrontations, ideas and freely expressed suggestions that ended with a final “match”, after which an internal jury decided the best solution for every area.
Nordio added: “We need strong and achievable ideas to align Volkswagen Group Italia to the deep transformation that the Group is undergoing at a global level – the transition from car manufacturer to provider of sustainable mobility services – and to adapt as fast as possible to every change of society and, therefore, to the world where our products and services will be offered. I am sure that our managers team did a great job and this exceptional way of stimulating creativity had a huge success.”
The winning ideas, selected at the end of the Hackathon, are under internal evaluation to define their actual implementation. “It was a completely new experience for our management, that got in the game in this original initiative with a high team building value. There’s the will of implementing the job of the colleagues and, because of the good results of this first H-ACK, involving also other collaborators in the future” stated Raffaella Ponticelli, Director of Human Resources.