13th round of the UNIKAT ideas competition starts on November 1

For the 13th time, the University of Kassel is calling for the UNIKAT ideas competition. The aim of the annual competition, organized by UniKasselTransfer, is to promote the development of extraordinary and, above all, innovative ideas from the university environment.

Surprising products, innovative services, the creative utilization of research results or just an idea, all kinds of contributions are welcome in the competition! Over 550 idea sketches have been submitted in the past twelve years of the competition. Our region is permeated with ideas, projects, companies and initiatives that have emerged from the University of Kassel. This is also shown by the start-up map www.uni-kassel.de/go/Gründungslandkarte, which has been redesigned for the 50th anniversary. The deadline for this year's UNIKAT ideas competition is January 31, 2022.

Attractive prizes await the winning teams: The 1st prize is endowed with 2500 euros, the 2nd prize with 2000 euros and the 3rd prize with 1500 euros. In addition, the university has offered a new special research transfer prize of 2,000 euros this year. "With the special research transfer prize, we want to promote entrepreneurial initiative from science and support the transfer of scientific research results into concrete start-up ideas," says Jörg Frohart (head of the UniKasselTransfer incubator). The special prize Social Entrepreneurship, which was created last year, will also be awarded in the 13th ideas competition.  It is awarded for innovative product and service ideas that aim to solve current social challenges and thus offer added value for society as a whole.

Among the innovative project ideas of recent years is the intelligent fitness wristband that STRAFFR GmbH delivers from Kassel around the world (1st prize, 2014). The idea bli bla blub, which won 3rd prize in the UNIKAT ideas competition in 2020, has given rise to an inclusive children's book publisher in Kassel this year. The startup Zazmo GmbH (participant in 2017), together with the pilot customer, Städtische Werke AG, offers a system for a group payment method that splits the housing costs among several people directly in the booking process. The idea, Saatgutkonfetti, which won the audience award of the UNIKAT ideas competition in 2018, has evolved into a startup that recently appeared on the TV show "Höhle des Löwen."

Employees, students and alumni of the University of Kassel and students of the Student Research Center North Hesse are eligible to participate. Reviewers from entrepreneurial practice evaluate the submitted idea sketches. Three independent reviews result in an individual written feedback with personal tips. Participants also receive access to Kassel's start-up network and advice from the UniKasselTransfer Incubator, the university's start-up support service.

Contact:
Sandra Wilhelm, UniKasselTransfer
Tel: 0561 / 804 7252
Mail: ideenwettbewerb@uni-kassel.de
Web: https: //www.uni-kassel.de/einrichtung/ukt/unikat-von-der-idee-zur-gruendung