The beginning
When education is said, research and development must be mentioned in the same breath. Dr. Martin Neubauer, the head of the education and qualification area of the Styrian Economic Chamber and institute director of WIFI Styria, has always been convinced of this. In 2018, he therefore established a new R&D department at WIFI or in the education sector of the Styrian Economic Chamber. This department should contribute to getting people of all ages excited about learning and education and training again through the use of innovative methods and solutions.
In 2020, Thomas took over the management of the department and, together with Niki, developed the visions and thematic fields of the department. The three focal points into which our projects have been divided since then are “Talent Management I Green Skills I Digital & Innovative Forms of Learning”
A team with the appropriate know-how was recruited, the number of projects increased steadily and the rest is history – but one that is far from over.
Speaking of history, an exciting tale is where our name came from. Finding the name was a team effort, as the original name “Education, R&D” was not ideal for our international projects and partners. A new name was needed and the whole team was called upon to suggest names. After a long creative process with many good as well as bad suggestions, we had THE idea. Our main office is in room 466 on the 4th floor of the WIFI building, which eventually became “Room466″. Room” became “Room” – because of the internationality, of course. And here in our small Room466 we create space for new ideas, innovations and solutions.
If you want to know more about our daily project life, take a look at the life cycle of a project and thus our daily work.
Our Vision
We believe that change and new thinking are needed to tackle the challenges of our time in many areas of business and education. That is why we work on projects with innovative ideas & results with like-minded partners. In doing so, we initiate sustainable developments in the Styrian economy and education.
