Dining Flow Innovation Camp: The Future of Smart Dining
Peter Zettinig from International Business, Turku School of Economics, Minna Storm, from NUFO at the Medical Faculty and Carolina Islas Sedano, from the Department of Computing at the Technical Faculty, led an intensive Dining Flow Innovation Camp, where students from business, technology and computer science, and medical fields came together to develop innovative solutions for real-world challenges in the food service sector. The camp took place in Week 47 with a showcase presentation on November 21, at the final public event of the Dining Flow project.
The camp was a business-led continuation of Dining Flow research project funded by Business Finland and KONE Venturi. The entire project was to explore how restaurants can use data to reduce waste, improve service, and adapt to different levels of digital maturity. Through hands-on teamwork and the use of Design Thinking, participants co-created three viable business concept prototypes which sought to create value from inclusive, data-driven decision-making tools, trustworthy data governance models, and real-time feedback systems that benefit both restaurants and diners.
Students were provided with a unique opportunity to work across disciplines, gain innovation experience, and engage with an active research consortium (Faculty of Technology, Medical Faculty, and Turku School of Economics) and industry partners (e.g. KONE, Jamix, Metos, Safera, Sodexo, Smart Kitchen, SYK.). After the event, all students expressed high levels of satisfaction, noting that they felt empowered to innovate and tackle real-world problems.
- More information about the Dining Flow Project is available at https://sites.utu.fi/diningflow/
- A snapshot of Dining Flow Project Journey is featured at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4SIkcNF9hE