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spin-in aalborg - innovation in a new way
Since 2018, the city of Aalborg has been working with spin-in, a concept that helps accelerate innovation, growth, and employment by facilitating collaboration between companies. Spin-in is a new way of innovating, where established companies and start-ups play off each other extra well.
Table of contents:
- What is Spin-in?
- Why is Spin-in important?
- How does Spin-in work?
- Spin-in Cases Aalborg
What is Spin-in?
Spin-in is a concept that facilitates collaboration, processes, and co-creation between entrepreneurs and established companies. It involves the identification and activation of resources, knowledge, and experience. Spin-in goes beyond just matching companies; it takes it one step further and creates an environment where innovation thrives best in the face of diversity. By bringing together the strengths of established companies and start-ups, spin-in allows for the creation of new solutions and the potential for growth.
Why is Spin-in important?
Innovation is crucial for any economy to grow and develop, and spin-in is an excellent way to foster innovation. Established companies often have the resources and experience that start-ups lack, while start-ups can bring fresh ideas and creativity to the table. Through spin-in, these two entities can work together to create something new and innovative. This, in turn, can lead to job creation and economic growth. Spin-in is also a way to solve specific challenges that may not have been possible without collaboration.
How does Spin-in work?
Working with spin-in can be quite a detective work and can begin in both the established company and the young start-up. The process of spin-in involves identifying the strengths and weaknesses of both parties and finding ways to complement each other. It also involves understanding the goals of each company and identifying how they can work together to achieve these goals. The final result is a collaborative effort that benefits both parties.
Aalborg Spin-in Cases
Challenge
Energy company Norlys in Aalborg is in a process of change as a result of mergers and acquisitions. Norlys needs a new way of working with both innovation and recruitment of new young talents for business development.
Solution
An obvious method is crowdsourcing, which is why a collaboration through spin-in has been set up with IT company Frequens IO. The start-up has developed a platform that can facilitate digital development sprints in collaboration.
This way, several newly graduated talents have been given the opportunity to show their skills, ideas and collaboration method across the platform.
And then what happened
Norlys has identified four new solutions to four specific business challenges, and they have made contact with new talents for potential collaboration.
At the same time, Frequens IO has validated their platform and collected feedback for future development. Norlys has become their first paying customer.
Company: Norlys
Startup: Frequens IO
Challenge
Robotics company Really a Robot has developed a robot that, among other things, can test if people have a fever. They need to test and validate their prototype against a customer’s specific needs, including further development of the robot.
Solution
A spin-in collaboration was created with Aalborg Congress and Culture Center (AKKC). AKKC was looking for a more automated solution when conducting Covid-19 Pass check which was needed at the time. Through facilitated meetings and advice, the robot was further developed to meet AKKC’s needs to check Covid-19 Passes.
And then what happened
AKKC has automated the check of Covid-19 Passes and thus achieved time savings at the check-in of guests. They became Really a Robot’s first paying customer.
The robot has subsequently been sold to other similar customers and has given Really a Robot access to more investment fonds.
Company: Aalborg Kongres & Kultur Center
Startup: Really a Robot
Challenge
Wind blade manufacturer Siemens Gamesa needs to optimize the interaction between the so-called collaborative robots and humans in their production flow. They focus on making robots more flexible and faster to reprogram from one task to another.
Solution
Through spin-in, a collaboration between Siemens Gamesa and RiACT has been established. The robot company specializes in flexible automation software for industrial robots.
Through the collaboration and facilitated meetings, the software solution has been further developed and prepared for implementation at Siemens Gamesa.
And then what happened
Siemens Gamesa has gained new knowledge and access to skills in automation and programming of robots that can be included in their future production flow. Due to the potential, Siemens Gamesa in Germany was also involved.
RiACT has validated their software and method.
Afterwards, the experiences and results have been used to land a large million-kroner investment from a new investor.
Startup: RiACT
Company: Siemens Gamesa
