50 Humboldt Founders at Hallesches Haus on a Wednesday evening.
That was the scene on October 18, 2023, when the annual Founders Feast of the Humboldt Founders Club took place. Alongside exchange and networking, HR expert Dr. Adiba Maignan and psychologist Dr. Elisa Lopper gave talks. Adiba spoke about the Dos and Don’ts of the Employee Lifecycle, while Elisa discussed Job Crafting. We spoke with both of them about their insights.

Adiba: The most common mistake founders make is that they don’t take the topic of “People & Culture” into account from the very beginning. There are many mistakes that could easily be avoided if, as a founding team or founder, I asked myself early on: What should our culture look like? Which HR processes do we need? What should we develop at each stage? This way, when growth happens, I can rely on solid processes.

Adiba: I would always advise considering the Employee Lifecycle from the very beginning and evaluating it at regular intervals to check: Are we well prepared for the next phase of our company? Do we have everything we need? Are we well equipped?

Elisa: Job Crafting is a bottom-up redesign of work that employees initiate themselves. That means they try to change or adapt their work or certain aspects of their job according to their own needs or preferences.

Elisa: Absolutely. At least, they should be. I think it’s more of a necessity. So the question isn’t really whether they already are, because given circumstances like changes in the world of work, employee expectations, or the shortage of skilled workers, employers need to take action. They should therefore create a work environment that enables their employees to be proactive, for example in crafting their own jobs.

Thank you both for your time!

Der Beitrag Job Crafting and Dos and Don’ts of the Employee Lifecycle erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Aaron is the medical assistant of the future. With the help of artificial intelligence, our technology bridges the gap between the growing shortage of medical professionals and an aging society. As the first point of contact for patients, Aaron makes every doctor’s office available around the clock—even on weekends.

With just a few clicks, the telephone assistant can be used to book appointments online and find simple solutions. Medical professionals are relieved of organizational tasks and can be deployed more efficiently. We use artificial intelligence to adapt human-machine communication to people’s needs, rather than the other way around.

Our vision is accessible, effective and sustainable healthcare for people of all ages. Despite technological change and the growing shortage of medical professionals across Europe, medical care will not be automated in the near future for regulatory reasons. However, healthcare, i.e. care provided by practice staff and consultations with doctors, can be supported and asynchronised by AI in the future. Aaron can be the conversation partner of the future for this purpose.

Excerpts from Aaron.ai software

Der Beitrag Aaron in healthcare: AI that answers instead of putting you on hold erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Contract management costs companies and employees a lot of time. In most cases, contracts need to be printed out for signing, which not only wastes paper but also harms the environment. Missing a cancellation deadline can be expensive for private individuals and even more so for companies. INHUBBER offers a solution for the digitalization of contract management, saving resources, money, and nerves.

Our solution is based on innovative technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. With two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption, we ensure the highest security standards for our customers. Our electronic signature is based on blockchain technology and is therefore unique. It can digitally sign all common file formats, such as Excel spreadsheets or videos.

Artificial intelligence extracts metadata from contracts, sets the corresponding deadlines, and automatically reminds users of important dates. INHUBBER combines ease of use with a wide range of functionalities related to document management, helping customers focus on their core business.

With us, trust becomes the standard. Instead of legal jargon, our artificial intelligence explains contract content in a way that is clear and automated for everyone. At the same time, we are constantly working on further raising the security level in handling contracts. Our goal: to develop INHUBBER into the most trustworthy and secure contract management platform in the world.

Der Beitrag Digital contract management – eco-friendly and safe erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Mental health disorders have steadily increased in recent years, with children and adolescents being particularly affected. However, the stigmatization and taboo surrounding mental illness have resulted in a lack of educational and preventive programs. Our workshops close this gap in care by encouraging students and teachers to engage in an open approach to mental well-being. In doing so, not only the young people themselves benefit from the content of the workshops.

The students, as well as the teachers and our workshop leaders, serve as ambassadors for the mental health of children and adolescents. They help raise awareness of the importance of mental health in our society and empower more people to engage openly with mental illness.

The work of Kopfsachen is characterized by the combination of scientific grounding and practical skill development. The workshops were designed in close collaboration with Humboldt University Berlin and with continuous input from young people. This approach ensures that our programs are both aligned with the latest research and tailored to the needs of our target group.

Unlike other organizations, we do not focus solely on providing information about mental health disorders. We also promote the practical development of young people’s mental health skills. In addition, we place great value on the professional training of our workshop leaders and on engaging with young people on an equal footing.

Kopfsachen pursues the vision of a society in which all people are empowered to engage openly and competently with mental health. We aim to create an education system that transforms from being a source of stress into a resource for children and adolescents, with schools becoming places that actively promote mental well-being. Achieving this goal requires structural changes to the framework of our education system.

We need to move away from a strong focus on grades and the associated pressure on children and adolescents. Instead, the focus should be on developing potential and activating resources. Dedicated spaces must be created where young people can build the skills necessary for self-determined living and be supported in the healthy development of a resilient personality.

The pictures show excerpts from a Kopfsachen workshop. Pupils are asked about their feelings and needs.

Der Beitrag How important is adolescent mental health? erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

When many people think of leadership, they imagine hierarchies, ranks, suits, company cars, and so-called “typically male” leadership traits such as rationality, dominance, and assertiveness. At WaveMakers, we help young professionals break free from these stereotypes and discover their own path to leadership. We show them that leadership can be far more colorful and individual than they ever imagined.

Through digital community and learning offerings, we empower young people to embrace their strengths and build confidence. At the same time, we tackle Germany’s leadership shortage and support companies in redefining leadership while fostering innovation. In recognition of this work, our founder, Katja Kolmetz, was named a finalist for the Digital Female Leader Award in 2021.

1. Leadership is not a job title. On average, people take on nine years of personnel responsibility before they gain access to leadership training. WaveMakers is designed for young professionals and does not require a managerial position.
2. With WaveMakers, we challenge traditional leadership norms. In collaboration with psychologists, coaches, and leadership researchers, we have developed innovative learning content tailored to the needs of women and other groups underrepresented in leadership positions.
3. Our community and learning platform is entirely digital and English-language, allowing us to reach people from around the world. In less than a year, we have worked with over 1,000 participants from more than 40 countries.

Climate crisis, wars, pandemic. The world needs diverse perspectives to tackle the greatest challenges of our time together. Yet diversity is still not reflected in leadership positions, and many training programs reinforce outdated mindsets and leadership stereotypes.

To harness the power of diversity, people of all genders, backgrounds, and abilities must see themselves as leaders. Having a seat at the table is not enough; they need to take responsibility without feeling like they have to compromise who they are.

With WaveMakers, we help young professionals leverage their individual strengths as leadership qualities and use their unique perspectives to make the world a better place. The time has come to redefine leadership!

Der Beitrag 87% of respondents aged 20-34 say “No” to a leadership role. Why? erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

We show consumers where the products they buy in the supermarket really come from. Many companies lack the tools to tell the story of their products and to transparently demonstrate their sustainability to their customers. However, this is increasingly being demanded – not least due to the German Supply Chain Act.

In addition, consumers themselves increasingly want to factor in the social and environmental impacts of products and companies when making purchasing decisions. With seedtrace, this loop is closed: companies can make their sustainability efforts verifiable, thereby enabling consumers to make more conscious purchasing decisions. Transparency and sustainability become economically attractive.

With a tailored approach, impacts can be managed and verified for all stakeholders – from product communication to real-time product traceability. Impact claims can be verified by third parties or through internal documentation, leading to increased consumer trust. This supports our goal of integrating Corporate Social Responsibility efforts into operational marketing activities.

Seedtrace offers integrations for traceability and verification using blockchain technology or advanced supplier management solutions. The customized content management system can be seamlessly integrated into websites, packaging, and online shops. We adapt our platform to meet specific customer needs, strengthening collaboration with all stakeholders along the supply chain.

Seedtrace was born out of a clear problem: the missing link between a product’s origin and us as consumers. We are working toward a future in which all actors along the supply chain collaborate and grow together. We strive for a world where the people who produce our goods benefit from sustainable and environmentally responsible work.

Our impact ecosystem involves many different stakeholders. Strengthening collaboration across the entire supply chain is crucial. We believe in leveraging innovative technologies to analyze and improve complex supply chain processes — especially their social and environmental impacts.

Snippets of the software by Seedtrace

Der Beitrag Transparency in your shopping cart erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

For edible oil, packaging is currently made primarily from single-use glass and metal. Both require enormous amounts of energy and resources during production and therefore contribute significantly to climate change. Glass production additionally requires gas, which creates a dependency on fossil fuels from other countries. Alternatives such as plastic bottles or composite cartons are not any better, as they contribute largely to today’s waste problem on land and in the world’s oceans.

With our reusable glass packaging, both CO₂ emissions and resources are saved, since the bottle does not need to be melted down after every use but can simply be washed and refilled.

Our reusable system is just as easy to use for oil mills and edible oil distributors as the single-use glass they currently rely on, because we take care of the entire background service. This includes the collection of empties from retailers, logistics, and bottle washing. The only difference is that new glass doesn’t have to be produced every time – instead, we deliver washed bottles ready for refilling. This is made possible through a partner network of washing service providers, where we deliver dirty bottles and pick them up clean.

Our customers don’t purchase containers from us – they purchase a service for a usage fee. As simple and affordable as single-use, but much more ecological. For end consumers in retail, nothing really changes, as they can return the reusable bottles at deposit machines just as they are used to.

In the food sector, most products are currently packaged in single-use containers, as these are often still cheaper for brand owners and involve less effort in disposal. We want to change that by gradually introducing reusable systems for more and more product categories, always with the aim of making packaging more sustainable.

Not every product makes sense in reusable packaging. But where it does, we want to help establish an efficient and ecologically meaningful reusable system – in order to save energy and resources in the long term.

Der Beitrag Innovation of dotch: Olive oil in reusable bottles erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

The problem: Learning frustration and the feeling of “I just can’t do this.”
The solution: We empower children and young people to develop their potential.

sofatutor ensures that fundamental knowledge is built and consolidated – essential for successful personal development. A missed class or a moment of inattention is no longer critical when it comes to the academic success of children and young people.

sofatutor provides its own learning materials, designed, implemented, and reviewed by teachers. From first grade through graduation, in (almost) all subjects and school types, students are supported in an age-appropriate way. All content is aligned with the curriculum and can be used nationwide. Unlike other learning platforms, sofatutor puts students at the center of the learning process: from setting personal learning goals, to receiving concrete feedback on progress, to individualized preparation of the learning content.

Learning processes must not only be tailored individually but also be made much more needs-oriented within schools. Here, platforms and solutions like sofatutor can provide valuable support thanks to their many years of work in the individual learning sector and can further develop their offering together with schools. In a digital society, learning and personal development will become increasingly important as lifelong processes. Inspiring children and young people to enjoy achieving their own goals is a key prerequisite for this.

Der Beitrag How can learning be fun? erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Pets initially suffer in silence when they fall ill. Dogs and cats are very resilient creatures and only show signs of discomfort or pain when it becomes almost unbearable. The “Feniska Base” automatically monitors weight changes, toilet visits, and sleeping times. This allows potential health problems to be detected early or even prevented.

Feniska is the only provider of products that enable automatic and non-invasive data tracking. Our goal is to provide pet owners with smart IoT products that facilitate the monitoring, prevention, and maintenance of animal health and raise human awareness of animal health.

The Feniska app was developed to simplify health monitoring for pet owners, focusing on four health metrics. These were considered crucial for health by veterinarians among other metrics: weight, nutrition, activity, and mood. The Feniska app can be used in combination with the “Feniska Base” to automatically monitor health metrics (weight changes, toilet visits, sleep times, and behavior) from the “Finiska Base.” What makes the “Feniska Base” special is that it measures data non-invasively. This means that the animal does not have to wear a collar or other device for this health data to be collected. Automated and non-invasive trackers for pets do not yet exist within the EU.

Feniska App

In the future, we will offer a smart home ecosystem for pet owners so that they can keep track of their pets’ various health needs. Pet owners should not only know what food their pet needs or what the ideal weight is for their pet at different ages, but also be informed about behavior and character traits, types of activities, or clinical pictures and their prevention. That is why we see it as part of our mission to incorporate this educational aspect into our products. Our vision is to create a world in which every pet owner can ensure that their pet is healthy and happy.

Der Beitrag How are our pets really doing? erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Lack of exercise and poor fitness cause many health problems. Often, the problem is not a lack of options, but a lack of motivation. SCANECA can be used to sustainably increase motivation for more exercise and a healthier lifestyle.

Gyms can immediately show their members their problem areas and objectively measure their training progress. Physical therapists can directly identify classic posture problems and poor posture and clearly demonstrate progress during therapy. This leads to better results and satisfied patients, as all details are clearly understandable even without specialist knowledge.

3D body analysis by Scaneca

We bring the future to people. Our high-precision digital 3D image is a copy of the real person, and every little detail is visible.

The days when health analysis consisted only of numbers are over. Our analysis is customer-oriented and focuses on the individual body. The comprehensive results on your own fitness level, body composition, and posture provide a holistic picture. Analysis with SCANECA is simple, fast, and reproducible, and the results are highly accurate and traceable.

We want to give people a better understanding of their own bodies and fitness levels. In our digital and often hectic times, people often lose touch with their bodies. Yet accepting your own body and critically examining your strengths and weaknesses are fundamental prerequisites for a happy and contented life. We want to reach people and help them with these tasks. The objective presentation of the SCANECA results is the ideal starting point and a perfect companion for improving one’s own health.

Images show excerpts from Scaneca’s 3D body analysis

Der Beitrag 3D body check: See your fitness transformation erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.