Danish technology group Stibo - which owns systems developers CCI and Escenic - is "keeping young, tech-savvy people close" with its own incubator initiative.
Five students from Aarhuis University and the Danish School of Journalism are working on media-related projects for three months at the group's Højbjerg headquarters, taking their masters theses as a starting point.
Formed into three teams, they are looking for engaging iBeacon experiences, developing newspaper uses for Google Glass, and evolving a Snapchat news app which already has 1500 followers.
"We want them to be able to do radical innovation, make mistakes and learn from them, while working in a disciplined and focussed environment close to the market," says Kim Svendsen, who has added the role of director of Stibo Accelerator to his 'day job' as marketing manager of CCI Europe.
"We're really passionate about bringing people much closer. It's a fantastic thing to be part of."
Working on what Svendsen describes as a "tumble dryer model", students are partnered with mentors, their ideas listened to and shaped, and then "there's another turn".
"We're not seeking a financial stake in what they're doing, but can help them find venture capital," he says.
The iBeacon and Google Glass teams have already visited WAN-Ifra's World Publishing Expo in Amsterdam, and a "reverse study tour" to Asia is planned.
Svendsen says publishers should consider becoming involved, and signing up in mentor roles: "With technology like the Apple Watch coming through, are you going to wait... or start looking at it now," he says.
Right: Anders Kongstad explains his Snapchat app via a self-balancing telepresence robot, "so much cooler than Skype"
On our homepage: Students discuss their projects
- A video about the Stibo Accelerator initiative is here
Stibo Accelerator - intro November 2014.mpeg from cci on Vimeo.