The beginning
When we talk about education, research and development should naturally be part of the conversation. Dr. Martin Neubauer—Head of the Education and Qualification Division at the Styrian Chamber of Commerce and Director of WIFI Styria—has long believed in this connection. That’s why, in 2018, he founded a dedicated R&D department within WIFI, the chamber’s education sector. The goal: to reignite enthusiasm for learning, education and training across all age groups through innovative methods and solutions.
In 2020, Thomas Narowetz took over the management of the department and together with Nikolaus Schrümpf, they 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”.
We built a team with the right expertise, the number of projects grew steadily, and the rest is history. But ours is a history still in the making.
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, so we put our heads together as a team and brainstormed. After a long creative process with many good as well as bad suggestions, we had THE idea. Our main office was in room 466 on the 4th floor of the WIFI building, which eventually became “Room466”. “Raum”, the German word for room, became “Room” – to reflect our international scope. And here, in our small Room466, we create space for new ideas, innovations and solutions.
Curious about what we actually do day-to-day? Take a look at the life cycle of a project which sums up 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.
