A Bundeswehr site as a playing field for digital innovations? This is exactly what became a reality at the “Tag der Bundeswehr” on June 28 in Greding – thanks to 15 dedicated Master’s students from the Digital Business Management course at Hof University of Applied Sciences. In an unusual practical project, they developed two interactive “escape rooms” to bring the Bundeswehr’s Talent Scout program to life, as well as an event app that made a digital rally possible for all visitors. With a lot of creativity, team spirit and technical know-how, they ensured that the visitors were not only amazed – but also discovered new perspectives in a playful way. A prime example of practical teaching.
Prof. Brautsch, Prof. Hilmer, how did the contact with the Bundeswehr and the assignment for the Talent Scout program come about?
“The escape rooms and the digital scavenger hunt were, among other things, the results of a previous cooperation project in which ideas and proof of concepts were developed for Armed Forces Day. We had the opportunity to develop ideas and a concept for this day last winter semester as part of the Digital Infrastructure & Applied Research modules from the Bachelor of Business Administration and the Master of Digital Business Management. Our initial results – such as the escape rooms and the digital scavenger hunt – convinced the Bundeswehr and so we were given the opportunity to put them into practice on site.”
What exactly are these escape rooms like? What tasks had to be solved and was there a strong connection to the Bundeswehr in terms of content?
“Both rooms had a “gloomy” flair, equipped with camouflage nets, computers, radios, warning lights and sirens. Simply everything you would expect from a Hollywood blockbuster. The tasks themselves involved coordinates and maps, cracking encryption and analyzing log files.
The escape rooms were also part of the Bundeswehr’s Talent Scout program. Young people who are interested in a career in the Bundeswehr are given a particularly deep insight into the world of the Bundeswehr – among other things through personal support from soldiers.”
What exactly awaited visitors at the QR code rally?
“A digital scavenger hunt was implemented via the Bundeswehr’s event app, in which visitors could collect points by scanning QR codes. Behind each QR code was a new task, e.g. counting the chain links of a tank or puzzles about the next station. Visitors had to scan a total of 10 QR codes, which were distributed along the entire route.
The current score of the participants was then presented on a public leaderboard. This encouraged visitors to continue searching for the QR codes. Once the visitors had successfully scanned all 10 QR codes of the rally using the event app, a small special in the form of exclusive tropical hats awaited them.”
How did the students work – were there clear roles or more of an agile approach and which tools were used? What were the challenges?
“There was a clear distribution of roles on the part of the professors, the students and the Bundeswehr. Tools such as MIRO or the Eventee app were used. In addition, weekly internal meetings were held to discuss the current status of the project and clarify open questions. In addition, work meetings were held once a week with the Bundeswehr and the teams in order to be able to implement the requirements of the practice partner perfectly.”
How much creative freedom did the students have – and where were clear guidelines from the Bundeswehr necessary?
“Basically, the students had complete creative freedom in close coordination with those responsible from the Bundeswehr and the two professors. There were only guidelines in the areas of budget and information security.”
What was the response from the audience?
“Overwhelming and outstanding, the enthusiasm was huge! The advantage that families and groups could take part in the scavenger hunt together really paid off. In addition, the scavenger hunt took you around the entire site.
To give you a few figures: A total of 1142 users registered in the app, of which 420 discovered at least one station of the scavenger hunt. The functionality and implementation of the scavenger hunt were rated very positively in the app – with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars from around 300 votes cast.”
The German Armed Forces were also very impressed:
“The students did an excellent job on the project. The collaboration was extremely constructive and efficient, especially in the hot phase of implementation. Changes were taken up at short notice and successfully implemented. The result speaks for itself and was a complete success. The two-stage project approach, proof of concept in the winter semester and implementation in the summer semester, contributed significantly to this. In the first stage, creative ideas were developed and evaluated. In the second stage, a well thought-out, high-quality solution was developed and implemented, making the project a lasting success.”
Timo Ahlborn, Deputy Project Manager for “Armed Forces Day;
Why are such practical projects so important for a course like Digital Business Management?
“Because it illustrates the different facets and dimensions of digitalization projects and every customer or client is different and places value on different things.”
Are there plans to continue working with the Bundeswehr in the future?
“It was our second major project. Although there are currently no specific topics or projects, we are in close contact and regular exchange with the Bundeswehr and will certainly encourage further initiatives in the future.”
