On Monday, December 16, 2024, the first Insiders Capstone Project, conducted in collaboration with Fraunhofer IESE, was successfully completed. In the newly established Insiders facilities, the RPTU master’s students presented the results of their intensive three-month projectproject.
Insights into Real-World Practice: Students as Contractors
In the Insiders Capstone Project, the students took on the role of contractors, while the automation experts from Insiders, acting as clients and project sponsors, presented a real-world challenge in the context of intelligent processautomation. Their challenge: the LLM-based development of product innovations for a no-code tool to generate automation services. Supported by researchers from Fraunhofer IESE, the students organized themselves largely independently and, over the course of the project, developed a deepunderstanding of the task at hand. Following a didactic and methodological kick-off phase designed by the Fraunhofer IESE team, the intensive collaboration with Insiders began, initially with several requirements interviews in which the students analyzed the problem statement. This was followed by regular reviews with the automation experts, during which progress was discussed and next steps were defined. At the final presentation on Monday, December 16, 2024, the students proudly presented their results in a small product showcase.
A No-Code Service Generator as the Heart of the Project
What made this capstone project special: The students worked directly with GenerAItor, Insiders’ latest no-code tool for generating automation services. This placed them right at the intersection of research, innovation, and business practice, giving them deep insights into the workings of a technologically leading AI company.
Comments on the Project’s Conclusion
Prof. Dr. Peter Liggesmeyer, Director of the Fraunhofer IESE, and—together with the CEO of Insiders, Werner Weiss—the initiator of the project, praised the practical challenge that Insiders provided the students through this capstone project.
Patrick Mennig, Department Head of Digital Innovation Design at Fraunhofer IESE, who regularly oversees capstone projects in collaboration with a major agricultural machinery manufacturer, highlights what makes this project unique: “What was exceptionally exciting about this first Insiders capstone project was that the students had to familiarize themselves with an existing solution. That’s not usually the case, and it was great to see how they overcame initial hurdles and made significant progress thanks to the support of the Insiders staff. “As the icing on the cake, the exciting, exploratory creativity that emerges when many young people have the chance to try out new things really comes into play.”
Students often look forward to the end of such a university project—but with this capstone project, a sense of wistfulness was palpable. Simon Scherr, Senior Digital Innovation Designer at Fraunhofer IESE, draws a positive conclusion: “When asked, ‘What else would you like to try out in the GenerAItor if you had another month?’ and the enthusiastic counter-question comes back, ‘Would such an offer really exist?’, then everything went perfectly.”
To be continued: Insiders Capstone 2025
A repeat of the Capstone project is already planned for 2025. This will further deepen the successful collaboration between Insiders and Fraunhofer IESE. The close integration of academia and industry not only strengthens the next generation of academics, but also Kaiserslautern as a technology hub, which is constantly evolving as a center for research and innovation.
