What do companies like the sustainable clothing store Him&Laya, the restaurant Wilhelms im Wälderhaus, the supermarket EDEKA Niemerszein, and the drugstore chain Budni have in common?
They have all taken part in the Hamburg Fair Trade University Competition over the last 10 years. In 48 individual collaborations between 39 companies and 13 universities, more than 800 students developed marketing and communication concepts for their partner companies, thus putting their theoretical knowledge into practice.
Fair Trade City Hamburg (FTS HH) and the Innovation Contact Service (IKS) have been organising the Hamburg Fair Trade University Competition for ten years. The aim of the competition is to make Fair Trade more visible, to raise awareness among students and to strengthen collaboration between business and science. The collaboration projects are initiated in advance by the IKS Hamburg. While the geographical focus was previously on Hamburg, the 2024 university competition also included the metropolitan region.
In the anniversary year, the projects were assessed by an eight-member jury with representatives from business, civil society, science and the City of Hamburg. The patron of this year’s university competition is Senator Katharina Fegebank, Head of the Department of Science, Research, Equal Opportunities and District Affairs of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
The Senator for Science welcomed all participants to the closing event at the end of June 2024 in Hamburg City Hall: ‘Where science and business meet, new ideas, sustainable solutions and innovative approaches are created. The Fair Trade University Competition is based on this formula. For 10 years, it has shown how much we can change when we take responsibility for fair supply chains in our immediate environment. A trading metropolis like Hamburg in particular benefits from the new impetus generated by the university competition. I am delighted to have taken on the role of patron this year and would like to congratulate everyone involved for their commitment and dedication.’
Participating entrepreneurs Bettina Sick-Folchert of Weltladen Lübeck (Fair Trade Shop Lübeck) and Benjamin Frieborg, owner of the clothing store Him&Laya and last year’s winner of the university competition, are delighted with the excellent collaboration with the university: ‘The students worked on our task in a very structured and professional way in a short time. I can well imagine implementing some of the proposed low-threshold measures, such as offering yoga classes or readings in our country shop,’ says Frieborg.
Bettina Sick-Folchert: ‘We at Weltladen Lübeck consider this university competition to be a real gift! We could not have imagined that the results would be so comprehensive, competent and diverse. The students of Leuphana University have brought a breath of fresh air into our daily business with their serious commitment: we have already started to set up a team to evaluate and implement the results. One thing is for sure – we will include a budget for advertising and public relations in our financial planning.’
Science also benefits from the collaboration, as Prof. Dr Kerstin Brockelmann of Leuphana University Lüneburg describes: ‘The collaboration offers our students an excellent opportunity to put their theoretical knowledge into practice and at the same time make an important contribution to society. Business psychology with a focus on market and consumer psychology at Leuphana University Lüneburg provides an excellent basis for applying scientific findings directly to real-life problems. This practical experience is of great value both for the academic, application-oriented education and for the personal development of the students. We are proud to have taken part in this important competition with the aim of working with our partner for a fairer world and are delighted to have been awarded first place’.
Find out more about the university competition here.
If you would like to participate as a partner company in the 11th Fair Trade University Competition, please contact us!