UNIKAT ideas competition: First place for medicine case

Around 90 guests celebrated the diversity, creativity and innovative power of the students, staff and alumni of the University of Kassel at the award ceremony for the 15th UNIKAT ideas competition. With 65 ideas submitted - twice as many as last year - the competition once again proved to be a key source of inspiration for entrepreneurial ideas from the University of Kassel.

Most of the ideas came from the Business Sciences, followed by the School of Art and Design, Ecological Agricultural Sciences and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering/Computer Science. Ideas were also submitted from the humanities and cultural sciences, humanities, social sciences and architecture, urban and landscape planning, Mechanical Engineering, civil and environmental engineering and administration (fire protection).

"The diversity of ideas is impressive - and it is particularly pleasing that Faculties that were not involved in previous years also submitted exciting ideas," emphasized Prof. Dr. Rita Borromeo Ferri, Vice President and responsible for Knowledge Transfer and Start-up Promotion. "In addition to innovative ideas from research, many participants were also driven by personal challenges - from health issues and educational gaps to everyday problems. And it is precisely this diversity that makes the UNIKAT ideas competition so special."

The prize winners

First prize went to Lea Brandenstein with her idea "ISOmedi". The student from the art academy developed a user-friendly medication case for people with chronic illnesses. The jury praised the innovative use of the material and the product's high suitability for everyday use. The prize of 2,500 euros was presented by Marc Finke from Kasseler Sparkasse, which sponsored the first prize.

The jury awarded the second prize of 2,000 euros to Tom Irwahn, a student at Faculty 11 (Ecological Agricultural Sciences) with the idea of the "double-wheel sorter". The jury particularly praised the advanced, practical solution and the simplicity of the sorter at low cost. An application appears possible both in Europe and in the Global South, where access to expensive technologies is often limited. The prize was presented by Dr. Detlev Terzenbach from Starthub Hessen, who sponsored the 2nd prize.

The 3rd prize of 1,500 euros sponsored by the Unternehmerverband Nordhessen was even awarded twice: Mia Reitz, postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) received the prize for her idea "Second Nose" - a solution for people with a limited sense of smell. The second award went to Lea and Florian Groh for their idea "fömo". The team presented a web application designed to help social institutions and associations find and acquire funding.

Thomas Meyer, Chairman of the North Hesse Business Association, and Sonja Trieschmann, representative of the jury, congratulated the teams. They praised not only the high social relevance, but also the fact that the ideas were born out of their own life experiences.

During the short pitches of the Top Eleven teams, Mia Reitz also impressed the audience with "Second Nose", and she was also able to take home the audience award, a hoodie from the University of Kassel.

Beatrice Frichs, who had won 2nd prize last year with her "Gradu App", presented the audience award. In her review, she talked about how her idea had developed over the past year: she was able to acquire the Hessen Ideas Scholarship and expand her network and find a co-founder by participating in the Hessen Ideas Accelerator and workshops in the Science Park.

All Top Eleven teams received a voucher from Jörg Froharth, Managing Director of the Science Park, for two months' work in the CoCreation Lab and participation in the Startup Hack + Prototype Workshop - a great start to the next phase.

Jens Behrmann, Deputy Head of UniKasselTransfer and Head of Career Service at the University of Kassel, emphasized: "Entrepreneurial skills are a key qualification for the future: the ability to recognize problems, develop creative solutions and act independently are in demand - whether in start-ups, established companies or public institutions. The UNIKAT ideas competition is a perfect place to train these skills - and that is exactly what strengthens the participants for their professional future."

The UNIKAT ideas competition was supported by Kasseler Sparkasse, Starthub Hessen, Unternehmerverband Nordhessen, Science Park Kassel, VDI and Techniker Krankenkasse.

Contact:
Gabriele Hennemuth
University of Kassel
UniKasselTransfer | Incubator
Tel.: 0561 804-1859
E-mail: hennemuth[at]uni-kassel[dot]de