A HAFIS run extends over approximately one year and starts simultaneously at all participating centers. Of the 12 months, three months are allotted to registration/acquisition of participants and nine months to the actual preparation and implementation of the Academy. The three phases include events, enablement formats and ongoing coordination between the centers.
Project preparation is the start of the actual HAFIS run. The goal of this phase is to build a portfolio of project ideas and possible teams to implement them, and to select projects from this portfolio for further progress. The project ideas should be based on existing research results of the participants as well as their personal interests and skills. In addition, the participants deal with the addressees of their respective ideas. In this way, they abstract from their own perspective and find out whether their project idea resonates with the target group. External project mentors or other external experts can be involved in this process, for example. At the end of the phase, procedures for evaluating ideas help to select those projects that are to be implemented. The participants then form project teams for these projects.
In the subsequent project support phase, the teams work with coaches from their local Academy teams and external mentors to design their project. Members of innovation management, start-up consulting and other members of the transfer offices are also involved on a situational basis. In an iterative procedure, they analyze the project challenge to be solved, understand the needs and requirements of their addressees and develop solutions. They implement the latter prototypically, obtain feedback from their addressees and implement a Minimal Viable Product at the end of the phase.
The Power-Ups are workshop-like meetings in which all project teams of a respective center come together. The coaches impart methodological content and invite external experts if necessary. The discussion of the contents takes place in the plenum with the teams.
Within the sparring sessions, the coaches offer regular team-specific sparring sessions in which they address the project situations of the team and establish links within the consortium or to suitable external experts.
At the start, a joint kick-off event is held at one of the participating Helmholtz centers. The participants will be provided with a methodological framework for identifying, designing and evaluating their own projects. The range of possible transfer projects will be presented using practical examples from the field. The event has a workshop character, i.e. participants apply methods immediately and take up impulses. Idea-finding sessions are used to develop their own project ideas, and possible common interests are identified in speed dating exercises. At the end of the event, initial project ideas including first possible team constellations are developed.
The interim presentation will take place after approximately four months on the current status of project identification and implementation. The primary purpose of the presentation is for the participants to receive feedback on their projects, to document an interim result and to generate visibility in the community. In addition to the participants and the coaches, project mentors, external experts and employees of the centers' transfer offices (e.g. from innovation management or start-up consulting) are also invited to the event. Afterwards, the projects at their centers can be supported in mobilizing additional resources, if necessary.
The Impact Day is the final event and takes place at an attractive, possibly international, location that stands for innovation and impact. Here, the teams present their project results to an audience from science, business, society and potential investors. The results are presented in the form of a small exhibition. In addition, the participants receive a certificate that recognizes their commitment to transfer and the project results. The certificate is issued physically, but can also be digitally integrated into career platforms (e.g. LinkedIn).
