KLU SPARK meets the Young Makers Festival

Mariella Sinderhauf: At KLU, we bridge the gap between high-quality education and tangible real-world examples. I’m convinced that entrepreneurial skills are essential for any career path. That’s why I’m a big fan of our motto, “Leading with an Operations Mindset”—in other words, getting things done. The world out there is changing so rapidly. But instead of just adapting, isn’t it much more exciting to be the change yourself?

That’s also our guiding principle at KLU SPARK: encouraging people to embrace ownership—that is, to take responsibility and actively shape the future. The Young Makers Festival fits in very well with that.

What does KLU SPARK stand for?

Mariella Sinderhauf: Actions speak louder than plans. We want to provide the decisive impetus—like a spark that sets an engine in motion. Our mission is to foster entrepreneurial thinking and equip tomorrow’s leaders with the skills they need to successfully shape the future. In other words, to adopt an operations mindset.

Back to the Young Makers Festival: You hosted the workshop “Build your university of the future.” What did you work on together?

Mariella Sinderhauf: Actually, the participants developed all of that on their own. My role was more to create a space for them to get started. That’s exactly what SPARK does.

The group was very diverse, with 15 students from a wide variety of school types. The first task was: What skills are important for helping to shape the future? Courage, creativity, and analytical thinking were frequently mentioned—but so was being funny. I thought that was great. After all, life is serious enough as it is; a dash of lightheartedness and humor makes it all that much easier. The second part focused on the question of what the university of the future would need to look like to allow these skills to flourish. One group, for example, suggested: a strong practical focus, self-directed learning, creative programs, and open spaces for getting to know one another. I found it particularly interesting that the topic of nutrition ran through all the groups; one even mentioned a vegetable garden. On a meta-level, the focus was always on strengthening the community.

At the end of the workshop, I put all of this back into the context of “Leading with an Operations Mindset”—that is, the interplay between the head (vision), the heart (inspiration), and the hands (concrete actions). All three dimensions are needed to get things done. The students listened with full attention the entire time, and the atmosphere was great.