Quotes and experiences
"In the end all the participating students were winners. Because they all gathered deep business expercience and they got to know managers from an international company:"
"As a participant you will compete against high potential students from all over Europe, you will get the unique opportunity to build your own professional network and again practical business experience as you will work with our Henkel top management face-to-face.
Of course, shaping tomorrow's world today is a lot of fun, as well."
"Henkel Innovation Challenge gives the opportunity to students to get closer to one of the world's leading companies. Henkel managers support students to open the doors of this global company and gain valuable insights on its products, technologies and markets. Competing against students from all over the world and fighting for your innovative ideas will be an unforgettable experience".
"There is no better chance for students to get in touch with the diverse and fascinating world of Henkel products and adhesive technologies.
I am very curious to see which out-of-the-box ideas will come out of this unique challenge. At the same time, students will get valuable support from our management to broaden their perspective and take their skills to the next level. "
Jean Baptiste Santoul
General Manager
Laundry & Home Care Benelux
Jessica Thiel
Corporate Director
Human Resources
Global Head of Talent,
Leadership and Learning
Sylvie Nicol
General Manager
Cosmetics & Toiletries
France
Guy Boone
Corporate Vice President, Head of Global SBU for Consumers and Craftsmen, Adhesive Technologies
Anna Szpot & Anna Szarecka
The Winners 2010/2011 from Poland
“We loved the idea of inventing a product that is going to revolutionize people’s lives in the future. Especially that at the same time it wasn’t only creativity that mattered but also the way of showing that the concept could really work in terms of doing business. We had to prove that our product will bring added value for both: consumers and Henkel. Moreover, we thought such a competition could be great fun and a wonderful experience from which we can learn a lot. And HIC was all that – a great deal of joy, incredible people, but also very hard work and a valuable lesson on not giving up, striving to find the best solution, being ahead of the others with your ideas and the most important, working as a team.
We were inspired by our everyday life. Making laundry, drying and ironing are always nightmares for many people .That is why we thought of a solution that would make people’s life easier and be eco-friendly at the same. Thanks to the help of our mentors from Henkel Poland, we were able to come up with a very innovative idea that was also very strong in business terms!
We truly believe that our victory is strictly connected with the fact that we are close friends, who instinctively understand each other. Further more the fact, that we were focused on bringing on the best possible performance, from the very beginning. We always tried to think outside the box concerning not only our idea, but also the way of presenting it - everything to find a way to surprise the judges and convince them that our concept is coherent and well thought out – which finally, brought us to the top!”
The third placed Turkish team of the Henkel Innovation Challenge 2010/2011:
“As university students, meeting the CEO of Henkel was a fascinating experience for us. Every word of Kasper Rorsted was inspiring, impressive and sincere.” (Bugra, Mehnaz Ece & Nazli, Turkey)
„Meet the CEO“ Event:
„Meeting K.R. was an incredible experience. We are really impressed by his broad and strategic way of thinking and perceiving different issues. It was priceless to hear from him about the Henkel business and his private life. We really appreciate this opportunity.” (Anna & Anna, Poland)
The winners 2009/2010 from Germany
Tim Brüggemann and Matthias Mittelsten Scheid
"When we applied for the Henkel Innovation Challenge we had no idea what high relevance this competition would take on for us.
The first hurdle was to develop a convincing idea. After a few brainstorming sessions our idea developed – our ticket to the Challenge. The biggest challenge, in the national as well as in the international final: to reduce our complex and detailed idea to the essential and explain it simple.
Obviously we have found the right balance, because we could convince the international jury. And who knows – maybe one day we will really have the opportunity to put our idea into practice?
Retrospectively, not only because of our prize, we can say that the effort was worth it. We gained valuable experiences, had the chance to test our uni-gained knowledge, forged interesting ties to managers and students, got to know the great metropolis Amsterdam and: had a lot of fun!"
Bastian Steinbach
and his dutch team made it into the final of the Henkel Innovation Challenge 2009/2010
"The Henkel Innovation Challenge was demanding since it not only required a high level of creativity but also strong analytical abilities to derive a coherent vision of the future. The competition provided us with the right stimulus, setting and support to become visionaries, pioneers and inventors. This intense experience also ensured that all participants formed strong bonds with each other and created a community that will transcend the setting of this business competition.
The entire experience from conceiving an idea to translating these ideas into financial numbers was very enriching, to a large part due to the excellent mentoring from Henkel managers who took the time and worked together with us.
For everyone who is even remotely interested in his own future or the future of the world at large this challenge is an opportunity that cannot be missed."
Beata Bogusz
from the third placed Polish team of the Henkel Innovation Challenge 2009/2010
"The final of the Henkel Innovation Challenge in Amsterdam was a very unique experience for me. On the one hand, the competition is a really big challenge: a couple of months of co-operation in the group, complex tasks, time pressure and presentations in front of professionals from different countries.
On the other hand, HIC is a great pleasure and amazing satisfaction! I really enjoyed the tasks: forecasting the trends in 2050, developing a product, preparing marketing plans and financial statements. That was very interesting. The opportunity to work together with a mentor during the international final was a great honor. The mentor, a high-level professional who knows the industry, supported us from the very beginning of the final. He pointed out the best part of our work; advised on what we should work on. His commitment was a very positive surprise for me.
I'm glad I had the opportunity to compare our work with teams representing other countries. Representing Poland was a great honor for our team. It is a big satisfaction to be among the top three teams. The final in Amsterdam proceeded in an incredible, friendly atmosphere. I wish I could participate in HIC again!"
