The Opt-IN team

Who we are

We are the Junior Professorship Entrepreneurship and Digitalization. In our research and teaching, we pursue a triad of the topics of entrepreneurship, innovation and digitalization. Our focus is on entrepreneurial behavior and strategies, platform economy, as well as digital innovations and business models.

What expertise do we bring to the Opt-IN project?

• Research expertise in the field of entrepreneurship and digitalization
• Identification of opportunities and challenges for digital innovations
• Design and development of innovative products and digital business models, as well as strategic orientation of growth companies
• Analysis of best practices for data protection-compliant digital ecosystems

Who we are

We are the Chair of Industrial Information Management and research and teach on the topics of business model design, value creation in data ecosystems, data-driven circular economy, digitization of industrial systems and other innovative topics related to the use of information in the manufacturing context. In cooperation with various partners, we pursue the goal of answering current questions from practice by means of application-oriented research.

What expertise do we bring to the Opt-IN project?

• Research expertise in the field of entrepreneurship and digitalization
• Identification of opportunities and challenges for digital innovations
• Design and development of innovative products and digital business models, as well as strategic orientation of growth companies
• Analysis of best practices for data protection-compliant digital ecosystems

Who we are

The Chair of Digital Transformation researches and teaches in the field of digitalization, in particular new, platform-based business models and ecosystems, digital service innovations and the digitalization of work. Our focus is on platform ecosystems, in particular the governance and architecture of digital platforms. We investigate how companies can successfully design digital platforms and collaborate in ecosystems. We analyze the challenges and success factors in the development and operation of platforms and their embedding in value creation networks. Another focus of our research is on the digitalization of services and business models. Here, we investigate how new technologies such as AI, extended reality and the Internet of Things (IoT) can enable innovative services and products and improve customer experiences.

What expertise do we bring to the Opt-IN project?

• Research expertise in the field of digitalization, innovative business models and platform ecosystems
• Use of empirical research methods (e.g. laboratory and field experiments, case studies and interviews) to identify socio-technical requirements, needs and concerns of citizens, which are decisive for the acceptance and long-term use of smart home and smart city services
• Conception of intelligent solutions for domestic and urban environments based on the needs and requirements of users

Who we are

• VREEDA from Essen focuses on data transparency and sovereignty with an experienced founding team.
• With the DFL lighting service, it combines sports enthusiasm with smart living.
• It creates digital interaction points for local companies and data-conscious citizens.

What expertise do we bring to the Opt-IN project?

• Years of experience in setting up end customer ecosystems with networked devices.
• Proven basis through VREEDA platform and mass-market lighting DFL services.
• Deep understanding of user needs and data protection in the context of smart technologies.
• Successful implementation and scaling of IoT solutions in various market segments.

Who we are

We are the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering ISST. We research and develop data space technologies for sovereign data exchange and build forward-looking data ecosystems together with our partners.

What expertise do we bring to the Opt-IN project?

• Expertise in the field of data ecosystems and on current developments and strategic initiatives at national and international level
• Development of data infrastructures and data spaces for the technical implementation of data protection and data sovereignty
• Applied design knowledge of data sharing incentive mechanisms and business models in the smart city context

Who we are

• We develop intelligent software services for energy, industry and logistics
• We are committed to improved processes and new business models
• We develop high-quality processes in the fields of big data analytics, live monitoring, forecasting, optimization, machine learning and AI

What expertise do we bring to the Opt-IN project?

• Experience in the areas of live monitoring, anomaly detection and AI
• Design of web apps with a user-friendly front end and efficient back end
• Best practices and know-how from numerous successfully completed international projects