Schule der Alm

THE CHALLENGE
The Schule der Alm is an association that aims to promote Tyrolean mountain pastures, biodiversity and landscape conservation with the help of volunteers. At present, the association is confronted with various challenges such as the acquisition/retention of volunteers, the medium-term succession of the acting members, the question of expansion as well as the internal organisation/coordination.

OUTCOMES
In the course of this project, students applied their theoretical knowledge of developing a Business Plan as they presented ideas and concepts for “Schule der Alm” and discussed their outcomes in front of the association members. These included an online platform for coordination between active association members, former and future participants, customer loyalty programmes for volunteers in the form of a loyalty pass, and further offers for deceleration in nature with authentic overnight accommodation in the valley or goat hikes. As a thank you, the students were allowed to visit Helga's Alm in the Valsertal valley themselves at the end of the semester and try out various alpine activities. This created a win-win situation for the students, who were able to develop their problem-solving and entrepreneurship skills, as well as for the association, which received valuable input for the future of their strategy.