Vote online for the best startup idea from Hessen's higher education landscape - competition enters third round with record number of participants

28 ideas from 12 different universities are taking part in the 2018 "Hessen Ideas Competition". For the first time, a private, state-recognized university has also answered the call and nominated an idea for the competition. The range of ideas is correspondingly wide - from digital sports equipment to food innovations and high-end technologies. The best three ideas will be awarded prize money totaling more than 10,000 euros. In addition, all finalists will receive non-material support through exclusive networking events and financial support for trade fair visits. Until September 18, everyone has the opportunity to evaluate the ideas online. This vote will be taken into account alongside the verdict of a panel of experts and will decide who makes it into the final of Hessen Ideen. The best ten teams will present themselves to a jury of representatives from business and science on November 15, 2018, which will decide on the final placings.

The winners will receive their awards on the evening of the jury meeting at the Museum für Kommunikation in Frankfurt. On November 18, the finalists will present themselves to investors at the Pitch Club Frankfurt. Last year's winner was the "FRAME ONE" team from the Offenbach University of Applied Sciences. "FRAME ONE" is a custom-made bicycle using 3-printing for the price of a high-quality off-the-shelf bike.

The University of Kassel also entered three of its ideas, known from the UNIKAT start-up consultation and the UNIKAT ideas competition. The teams are the Pseudobox - an invention to combat bee mortality -, STRAFFR - a digitally networked sports device - and the Ackerwinde - a modularized planting spiral.

The competition is being held for the third time. The increased number of ideas submitted makes it clear that the Hessian university landscape has a strong need for offers to promote ideas and start-up projects. The "Hessen Ideen" initiative, which includes a scholarship program in addition to the competition, has established a network of Hessen's universities. "Hessen Ideen" brings together Hessen's universities in a network and aims to strengthen entrepreneurial and scientific creativity, anchor the idea of start-ups in the universities and present Hessen as a high-performance location for science and business.

"Since the introduction of "Hessen Ideen", cooperation between Hessen's universities in the area of start-up promotion has intensified considerably. In the network, we support each other and pass on experiences. The positive cooperation is also reflected in the record number of participants in this year's competition," says a pleased Jörg Froharth, Managing Director of Science Park Kassel GmbH, which coordinates the statewide competition on behalf of the University of Kassel.

To vote: https://www.hessen-ideen.de/wettbewerb/ideen/

Contact:

Annika Wallbach
Science Park Kassel GmbH
Tel.:  +49 561 95379 605
E-mail: wallbach[at]sciencepark-kassel[dot]de

Miriam Cartheret                            
Science Park Kassel GmbH                
Tel.: +49 561 95379 696
E-mail: c arthere t@sciencepark-kassel.de  

Background information:

The Kassel Teams:

The Pseudobox - In recent years, more and more bee colonies died. A consequence-serious problem that affects the work of each beekeeper is among other things the high emergence of Varroamilben in the bee hive. This is a parasite that damages and weakens the bees to such an extent that a bee colony dies without the beekeeper's intervention. A natural method of control may be the pseudoscorpion, which was originally found in beehives. It is believed to have the potential to control the mite population within a colony. The goal of the team behind the "Pseudobox" is to assist in the reintroduction of pseudoscorpions into hives. With the Pseudobox, beekeepers should be able to reintroduce pseudoscorpions into the hive and control varroa mites naturally without the use of acids.

The field winch - The "field winch" is an innovative construction for the vertical cultivation of vegetables, herbs and flowers. It multiplies the usable area for plant cultivation and at the same time impresses with its extraordinary design. A peat-free special substrate for vertical cultivation, an irrigation system and adapted planting instructions promise gardening success for everyone. By simply plugging similar elements into each other, the field winch can be easily assembled and disassembled as a kit without tools. It offers dozens of planting terraces in which vegetables can be sown or planted, tended and harvested in a comfortable position. The plant terraces wind upwards - each slightly offset - around their own axis, allowing even exposure of the plants and reducing soil pressure. In addition, deep-rooted plants can also be grown, as the interior of the field winch is not segmented and offers plenty of root space. The gain in area and the large root space combined with a modern design make the field winch unique compared to previous vertical gardening solutions. A garden that is too small, the desire for an easy-to-till raised bed with more surface area, or simply liking the unusual design can be incentives to purchase the field bindweed. As a "planted advertising pillar", the field bindweed marks places and projects of sustainability and can also be used in educational and public relations work, marketing or urban gardening.

STRAFFR - The core of the Straffr idea is the development and production of a piece of sports equipment, more precisely a rubber band, which uses sensor technology to record the strength, number of repetitions and speed of the exercises performed. The training results are then sent to a smartphone and evaluated via a specially developed app.