HSG Impact Awards

The flexibilization of work location and time has become an important factor for many companies in the battle for talent. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated this development. Even though many companies are calling for a return to the office after the end of the pandemic, it is becoming increasingly clear that the future of office work will be hybrid - i.e. partly in the office and partly remote. But what is the best way to implement this form of collaboration? This is where the project by Prof. Dr. Stephan Böhm, Tarek Carls, and Dr. Martina Hartner-Tiefenthaler (TU Wien) comes in. Initiated by the Center for Disability and Integration at the University of St.Gallen and Audi AG, this project identifies ways in which hybrid teams can organise their collaboration in order to increase both efficiency and health.

Green finance has fundamentally changed the financial industry. Investments in this area are crucial for sustainable projects and climate neutrality. The research project by Prof. Dr. Ola Mahmoud and Lea Tschan examines the relationship between green investments and income inequality, drawing on data sets from 87 countries from 2004 to 2020, and shows that green investments influence inequality through innovation and technological change. The social significance of green finance is illustrated in the study using examples from Switzerland. Conclusion: Political decision-makers need to balance green investments with social measures in order to ensure an inclusive and sustainable transition. The research project was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

In July 2023, a unique competition took place at SQUARE at HSG, in which the planned EU law on artificial intelligence was tested using AI applications. 12 teams from various disciplines took part to test the practicality of the law and developed suggestions for improvement. The event was of great benefit to both the technology companies and the participants, as it provided legal assessments and deepened understanding of the practical application of the law. The event also attracted media interest and received wide, positive coverage. Prof. Dr. Thomas Burri's project is one of the winners of the HSG Impact Award 2024.

The Covid 19 pandemic has preoccupied society like no other topic over the past two years. It became clear right from the start that the questions and problems associated with the pandemic are not only of a virological, economic, and statistical nature, but also have social and ethical dimensions at their core.
In a series of articles in leading public media in the German-speaking world, Prof. Dr. Thomas Beschorner and Prof. Dr. Martin Kolmar intervened in this discussion to contribute to the debate with well-founded factual analyses and normative reflections. Their text alone "Discrimination against the unvaccinated is ethically justified" on ZEIT Online has been read well over 500,000 times, commented on, and shared many times. This and other texts by Beschorner and Kolmar on the topic provided essential impulses for a social debate and shaped the social and political discussion in the past pandemic years. (in German)

Life Design is a scientific design approach that originated at Stanford University under the title "Design Your Life". There, the innovation method Design Thinking was applied to the design of one's own future and career for the first time. Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kernbach got to know this approach in 2018 as part of an SNSF fellowship at Stanford and has been steadily developing it ever since. Together with Prof. Dr. Martin Eppler and Prof. Dr. Sabrina Bresciani, he has combined it with insights from positive psychology, behavioral economics, and knowledge visualization. This has resulted in the new approach of "Life Loops", which has been published in various articles and in the book "Life Design".
Since then, this new life design approach has been used at the "Life Design Lab" of the University of St. Gallen, adapted for diverse target groups and organizations, and researched through numerous studies. In the award-winning research project, the impact of the St. Gallen Life Design approach for individuals, organizations, and society was investigated, especially with regard to the development of psychological capital, which is composed of self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience.

The Corona pandemic has kept the world on tenterhooks since 2020. In addition to the fundamental economic and In addition to the fundamental economic and social challenges, there has also been an abrupt change in the way companies work together: Home office, virtual collaboration, and the increased use of digital communication tools gained enormous importance due to the crisis. For many employees, the increased use of home office goes hand in hand with a gain in freedom and flexibility. On the other hand, empirical findings show that increased work in the home office leaves a considerable proportion of employees behind and threatens them with burnout. Not only to maintain their own competitiveness but also out of social responsibility, companies must find ways to support their employees in this ongoing exceptional situation in order to ensure long-term health and performance. The research project "Resilience and High Performance at Hilti in Times of Pandemic" by Prof. Dr. Heike Bruch, Prof. Dr. Nils Fürstenberg, and Frederik Hesse was dedicated to this topic in view of these comprehensive challenges, with the aim of supporting Hilti in successfully overcoming this global crisis. (in German)

Natural disasters and extreme weather conditions are increasing globally. The effects of these extreme events are often far worse in emerging markets than in developed economies. For their low-income populations, insurance cover is often not offered or is unaffordable. The HSG researchers Professor Alexander Braun and Niklas Häusle are convinced that an innovative, decentralised insurance model based on block chain technology has the potential to mitigate these problems.

Switzerland's energy supply is at a turning point: away from fossil fuels and nuclear energy and towards a sustainable energy supply using renewable energies. Here decentralised energy supply systems, which rely on local photovoltaic systems, are becoming increasingly important. A national pilot project of the University of St.Gallen, headed by Professor Felix Wortmann, developed a solution in collaboration with ETH Zurich: the "Quartierstrom" energy platform. The basic idea: locally produced electricity should be consumed locally. (in German)

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for a growing number of companies. Not least because customers are also attaching greater importance to climate and environmental protection. As early as 2012, a research project was launched which offers companies a management tool for business model innovation: the "Business Model Navigator". An interdisciplinary team led by Professor Karolin Frankenberger further developed this approach. The aim: to link the topic of sustainability and business model innovation and to develop sustainable, future-oriented business models that focus on "circular economy". (in German)

The garbage truck is one of the greatest CO2 producers in city centres, and also a source of lots of noise emission. Martin Meier developed a concept for the use of E-trucks as vehicles to collect recyclable material. Prof. Moritz Loock and Student Impact accompanied the project from ideas developed in the Executive MBA up to its implementation. In cooperation with various industry partners, "Designwerk" developed a recyclable material collection vehicle with the name "Futuricum". "Futuricum" is one of the winners of the "HSG Impact Award 2018".

If we want to understand the global economy, we have to understand global trade. What impact do protectionism and trade disputes have? What significance must be accorded to economic policies? This is where Global Trade Alert, which was launched on Professor Simon Evenett’s initiative ten years ago, comes in and provides answers. The "Global Trade Alert" is one of the winners of the "HSG Impact Award 2018".

Mobile Coach is an open software platform. It is intended to facilitate behaviour-oriented interventions for patients with various health challenges, for example in the areas of physical activity, diet behaviour, stress or pain management.
The platform was developed at the Center for Digital Health Interventions of the University of St.Gallen under the direction of Doctor Tobias Kowatsch. "Mobile Coach" is one of the winners of the "HSG Impact Award 2018".