A Match Made in Dresden: The EUTOPIA TeamWork Success Story

For the third year running, the EUTOPIA TeamWork program brought European students together with industry partners. Over four weeks, interdisciplinary online teams tackled real challenges set by two Dresden institutions: the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD) and lighting manufacturer corporate friends®. The results speak for themselves — creative, concrete, and ready to use.

Market analysis and new target groups for corporate friends®
The corporate friends® project centered on competitive analysis and target group development. Guided by Magdalena Nachtigall, students immersed themselves in the world of specialized lighting manufacturing – mapping the competitive landscape, building strengths-and-weaknesses profiles of competitors, and identifying new customer segments. Their approaches were sometimes unconventional, and that was precisely the point: fresh eyes brought fresh ideas. The findings will inform the company's strategic direction and feed directly into onboarding materials for new team members.

Magdalena Nachtigall on working with the program: “The TeamWork program impressed us greatly: the students were open, committed, and delivered results at a high level. In particular, the external, non-specialist perspective brought valuable insights. For us, it is a prime example of dynamic, practice-oriented collaboration that generates real impact.”

Rethinking international visitor communication at the SKD
For the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, the challenge was closer to home: how does one of Germany's most significant museum networks communicate with a global and diverse audience? The student team analyzed the SKD website through the eyes of international visitors, examining language, structure, and navigation to pinpoint where the experience fell short. Their recommendations ranged from refined communication strategies and branding improvements to concrete usability upgrades, including better mobile access and ideas for personalized, gamified visit planning.

Collaboration that runs in both directions
What set both projects apart was the quality of the ongoing exchange. Regular check-ins between students and partners kept ideas grounded and momentum high; interim results were discussed, ideas refined, and challenges addressed collaboratively. This step-by-step process led to outcomes strongly focused on practical feasibility.
This year, more than 250 students from five EUTOPIA universities – alongside TUD, the universities of Warwick, Ljubljana, Babeș-Bolyai, and CY Cergy Paris – had the chance to apply their knowledge to genuine business challenges. At the same time, the partners benefited from their ideas and perspectives. That mutual benefit is what makes TeamWork work.