CAMPUSiDEEN 2018 Projects Recognized

In the CAMPUSiDEEN start-up competition, the winners from the “Business Ideas” and “Business Plans” categories have been selected – four of them are from the University of Bremen. They were recognized on September 19, 2018, during a ceremony at the Chamber of Commerce.

A desktop 3-D printer from the Farbrecht team of the Bremen University of Applied Sciences and the intelligent chat bot “IDA Bot” of Nina and Dirk Wenig from the University of Bremen: those are the first places of a total of six in the categories of Business Plans and Business Ideas. Three other wins went to the University of Bremen: Kirsten Hillebrand, Hendrik Hinrichs, and Tobias Freund for their project “KARL, der Ökobot,” Leonard Pust for “BitMoin,” and Leonardo de Araújo, Nina Hentschel, and Zhou Yuen Fang for “Artfacts.” “Yummy Organics” by Laura Brandt, alumna of the University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven, was also recognized. The winners prevailed over 48 entries from 132 participants, one-third of which were women. This is well above the average among start-ups at just under 15 percent. “The ideas of the award-winning entrepreneurs offer solutions to urgent challenges. They show the great potential of the start-ups from the higher education institutions (HEI) in Bremen as an important building block for the future of our economy,” says Sarah Thiel, coordinator of CAMPUSiDEEN.

The Four Projects of the University of Bremen:

The first-place winners in the “Business Ideas” category, Nina and Dirk Wenig, impressed judges with their intelligent chat bot IDA Bot. Chat bots are often used in customer service, as a marketing tool, or to impart knowledge. For good customer communication, they must be equipped with sufficient knowledge. Usually chat bots are modeled manually – an expensive solution with limited possibilities. The IDA Bot chat bot, in contrast, is based on machine learning processes and independently acquires domain-specific knowledge from websites, manuals, newspaper articles, and other sources.

“KARL, der Ökobot” (“eco-bot”) helps consumers to act sustainably. It knows the needs, routines, tastes, and purchasing behaviors of its users and also has comprehensive knowledge of quality labels and the ecological balance of products. It gives personalized tips and suggestions on how to integrate sustainability into your everyday life without major restrictions or changes. It was developed by Kirsten Hillebrand, Hendrik Hinrichs, and Tobias Freund.

IT experts predict that block chain technology will have a similar influence on the economy and society as it has recently had on the Internet. Many companies in the logistics, energy, and health care sectors are already experimenting with block chain technology – but very few people even know what block chain is. Apart from the hype about the crypto currency Bitcoin, it is still invisible in people’s everyday lives. Which is why Leonard Pust, a graduate student at the University of Bremen, offers well-founded lectures under the name “BitMoin” in which block chain technology, the Bitcoin system, and its opportunities and potential are explained clearly and comprehensibly.

“Museum work has to go better than with the classic audio guide,” Leonardo de Araújo, Nina Hentschel, and Zhou Yuen Fang thought. With their business idea, they create an innovative data-driven curatorial framework for the employees of cultural institutions. With the help of the Artfacts platform software, cultural institutions can reorganize and reinterpret their digital collections. It offers effective strategies to give the public access to digital collections and thus opens up innovative communication channels for multimedia educational museum work.

Prize Money Totaling 15,000 Euros

Prizes worth a total of 15,000 euros were presented at the awards ceremony at the Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday evening. In addition to the first three places in the “Business Ideas” and “Business Plans” categories, an audience prize was also awarded in the “Business Ideas” category. The “Homepage” special prize, sponsored by the Bremen online marketing agency of former CAMPUSiDEEN participant Admospherics, and the “Markenschutz” special prize, sponsored by the Bremen law firm Nachtwey IP, were featured as additional awards. Janina Marahrens-Hashagen, vice president of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce, and Bremen city councilor Ekkehart Siering gave welcome speeches and congratulated the prizewinners.

About the CAMPUSiDEEN Competition

Since 2002, the CAMPUSiDEEN competition has been recognizing the best start-up ideas in Bremen’s higher education landscape. It is put on by the BRIDGE university initiative. The University of Bremen, Bremen University of Applied Sciences, the University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven, and Bremer Aufbau-Bank GmbH thus support business start-ups from a university context. The offers include counseling on the topic of self-employment and a course program.

The following partners support CAMPUSiDEEN 2018: BLG Logistics Group, Bremer Aufbau-Bank, kraftwerk city accelerator bremen, Nachtwey IP law office, neuland – Büro für Informatik, Admospherics, encoway, Sparkasse Bremen and the Bremen Chamber of Commerce.