Creative Steps – a success in Sweden

Soon it’s time for another round of Creative Steps, a ten step innovation process that support business development and cross-border collaboration. We have talked to participants from last round and they gave very positive feedback, so look out for next application form!

Next time the programme will take place in Ireland, and in May we had a successful Creative Steps at Technichus in Mid Sweden. Three students and two companies worked together during three intense days. The Swedish designer Kent Lindberg, from a carpentry business, was one of the participating entrepreneurs.

– I really enjoyed it! It was very little effort from me, but even though it was no costs and not much time spent from my side, the students got a good idea of our needs.

Kent was matched with the Irish designer Davin Larkin who also work with wood and it turned out to be a very good match!

Ana Popa who studied Industrial design at Mid Sweden University at the time, was one of the students working in Creative Steps. We thank her for her job and congrats to her master degree!

– Creative Steps was a nice challenge. When I applied I wasn’t sure what to expect or what it expected from me. But the experience turned out to be better than I thought, she says.

Ana was familiar with similar processes from earlier projects but the online aspect was something new for her.

– The online experience was a nice one!

The concept the three hard working students came up with in the end, was a wood treatment-kit the companies can give to their clients when they buy a product. A kit with instructions and treatments to use to take care of the new product they just bought.

– It’s a really good marketing idea, something the clients will remember and it really increase the value of our products, Kent Lindberg says.

Both Kent and Ana seems very satisfied to be part of the process. One of the things that made Creative Steps so good was the external advisers that came with support during the process. A big thank you to Cecilia Nordlund from Bizmaker and Mats Lundqvist from Mats Lundqvist Konsult AB, your participation was very useful!

– An amazing thing was the advisers we had for the different steps, it helped so much, Ana thinks.

Every Creative Steps-process is a little different from the others, but the heart and the ten steps is always the same, even though it can go on for three days, ten days or longer.

– Creative Steps is a super good concept. When we finished the project I left with a feeling of accomplishment. I learned so much, met amazing people and was part of an awesome team, Ana says.