The Five Challenges
Exciting Challenges With Charismatic Challengers and Coaches are Awaiting You!
Challenge 1
Bringing New Work to the Classroom
Design a «New Work» school subject that equips the next generation of innovators and leaders with the mindset and tools to transform the corporate world for the better. Your challenge is to create a ready-to-implement concept, considering age, content, and teaching methods to inspire a shift in how businesses operate and balance social, ecological, and economic responsibilities.
Challengers & Coach
The Experts
Pascal Dulex
Challenger
With his company Transformation Architects, Pascal empowers individuals, teams, and organizations to break free from outdated behaviors, rethink success, and make a positive impact on society and the environment.
Daniel Freitag
Challenger
Daniel Freitag is a creator of work and ideas, bag maker, truck tarpaulin recontextualizer, designer, founder, developer, representant, sometimes dilettante, cyclist, father and climber.
Boris Zigawe
Coach
Coach & Mediator.
Challenge 2
Leveraging AI for a More Human-Centered Future of Work
How can AI/digital technologies help or hinder efforts to improve human experiences in the future of work? Our teams will develop concrete strategies to tackle this challenge by leveraging human strengths—such as diversity, leadership, and emotional intelligence—to create a more human-centered workplace.
Challengers & Coach
The Experts
Dr. Mary M. Hausfeld
Challenger
Mary is the Head of Education at the Center for Leadership and the Future of Work and a Post-Doctoral Researcher in Organizational Behavior at the University of Zurich.
Dr. Florence Bernays
Challenger
Florence is a researcher at the Center for Leadership in the Future of Work with expertise in emotions, charisma, and well-being.
Dr. Jennifer Sparr
Challenger
Jennifer, Head of Ecosystem Building, is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of leadership, culture and change.
Dominik Hanisch
Coach
Expert for open innovation.
Challenge 3
Boosting Employee Engagement and Skill Visibility With Gamification
In the fast-changing biotech field, managing talent is more than just hiring; it’s about developing skills, making talent visible, and keeping employees engaged in their day to day challenges. To help them showcase their skills we need ways to encourage regular updates and development actions. How will we be able to update skills, excite and motivate our 250 employees to grow their talents for the future, and improve how we manage talent through innovative methods (e.g. gamification)?
Challengers & Coach
The Experts
Rebecca M. Herdtweck
Challenger
HR professional with over 13 years of work experience as global/local HR business partner in various business areas in pharma and diagnosticcs business. Experienced in change management processes, agile methods and scrum mastering.
Tara Welschinger
Coach
Systemic Coach, Supervisor, Support in Work Processes.
Challenge 4
Human vs. Machine: Is the “Genie in a Bottle” Haunting Your IP Rights?
As soon as the boundaries between human labour and technology blur, new challenges arise regarding the legal status of works and inventions generated by or with the assistance of certain tools. IP laws usually require that a person can be identified as the source of the work, for instance as an “author” in copyright law or as an “inventor” in patent law. How should we treat (or defeat?) the machine’s ghosts lending you a helping hand in your future workplace?
Challengers & Coach
The Experts
Dr. Christian Moser Nikles
Challenger
Christian Moser Nikles is a patent expert in life sciences at the IPI since 2014. Besides his activity as a professional patent researcher and examiner, he is involved in IPI’s efforts to promote IP awareness at universities and in the private industry.
Franziska Raaflaub
Challenger
Franziska Raaflaub studied law in Fribourg and completed a bilingual programme. She has been working for the IPI since July 2023 and is currently finishing her PhD (tort law).
Suzie Fuchs
Coach
Coaching, Supervision & Organisational consulting.
Challenge 5
Cultivating Ethical Change-Makers for the 21st Century
In a world of environmental crises, social disruptions, and ethical dilemmas, future leaders must navigate complex decisions. Many leadership programs lack a focus on moral courage and ethics. Design a program that equips young leaders to balance business goals with ethical responsibilities, driving corporate and societal change. What would YOU need from such a program to face 21st-century global crises?
Challengers & Coach
The Experts
Pascal Nonnen
Challenger
For the past five years, I have consulted organizations from various sectors on culture change and leadership development. In 2024, I began my PhD in General Management at the University of St. Gallen.
Rebecca Tillery
Challenger
As a PhD candidate and research assistant at the University of St. Gallen, I am dedicated to shaping a better future of work by addressing the moral challenges within organizations.
Antoinette Weibel
Challenger
I am a Professor at the University of St. Gallen and Director of the Institute for Work and Employment Research, focused on trust and human thriving in HR and organizational transformation. Founder of the Good Organizations Project and former FINT President, I also serve on the Swiss Academy of Social Sciences Board.
Ramona Bischoff
Coach
Organizational Innovator & Social Entrepreneur.
