Science2Start ideas competition 2024 – success stories since 2009
(Stuttgart) – This is the 15th time the Science2Start ideas competition has been held. It celebrates the ideas of scientists and start-ups in the STERN BioRegion that are judged to have particular economic potential by a panel of experts. Taking part is well worthwhile – since 2009, over 150 ideas have been submitted and numerous prizes have been awarded. The competition has produced a total of nearly 40 start-ups in areas including ophthalmology, sewage treatment plant analysis, exoskeletons and chronic inflammatory skin conditions. Company founders can submit their entries to BioRegio STERN Management GmbH from now until 15 May 2024, with preliminary information available at the 10th Startup:con Tübingen on 8 February 2024.
Both up-and-coming scientists and young company founders from the Stuttgart and Neckar-Alb regions can sign up for the Science2Start ideas competition 2024 right now. Once again this year, the organisers are looking for exceptional new knowledge- or technology-based life science products, processes and services. This is the 15th time BioRegio STERN Management GmbH has given participants the opportunity to have their ideas assessed by an independent panel of scientists and business experts. Besides receiving personal feedback from these specialists on the viability of their ideas, they can also make numerous new contacts within the extensive STERN BioRegion network. The best concepts submitted receive a cash prize and five hours of free initial legal advice. BioRegio STERN Management GmbH will be presenting the prizes to the winners at the summer reception on 4 July 2024 at the Tübingen observatory, and their successful ideas will then be communicated to the media.
Taking part in Science2Start is worthwhile
Over the course of the 14 previous competitions, more than 150 ideas have been submitted, almost a third of which won over the judging panel. „I am delighted that this initiative has so far produced close to 40 start-ups – and that some of these are already highly successful,“ says BioRegio STERN’s Managing Director Dr. Klaus Eichenberg. The success stories include Mireca Medicines GmbH in Tübingen, which develops drugs to treat incurable eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa. BlueLab Wasseranalysesysteme GmbH, also based in Tübingen, has come up with a fast, automated measurement system to detect Legionella. The team at Cytolytics GmbH in Tübingen is working on a modular software platform that uses cutting-edge machine-learning methods and algorithms to facilitate the fully automated evaluation of medical data. Cellendes GmbH in Reutlingen is already very successfully producing biomimetic hydrogels to design appropriate cell environments in 3D cell culture. Variolytics GmbH in Stuttgart has launched an analysis platform that, amongst other things, enables operators of sewage treatment plants to save energy and minimise emissions of environmentally harmful gases. Hellstern medical GmbH, based in Wannweil, in the district of Reutlingen, has launched „noac“ – the world’s first exoskeleton using intelligent motion tracking to hold surgeons in any desired position at the operating table. And the founder of IntegraSkin GmbH in Tübingen is aiming to revolutionise dermatological diagnostics by using artificial intelligence and innovative molecular biological methods to measure thousands of disease-relevant parameters and, in this way, find the appropriate, personalised treatment for chronic inflammatory skin conditions.
Dispendix GmbH in Stuttgart, one of the first Science2Start winners from back in 2009, specialises in developing non-contact liquid handling solutions for the life sciences industry. Andreas Traube, one of its co-founders, is certain he benefited hugely from this success. „As a young researcher, setting up a company was, at best, a vague dream. Science2Start showed me a dream of this kind can become reality and is worth pursuing, and it definitely gave me the initial motivation to create what was later to become Dispendix,“ he emphasises. Dr. Sven Schnichels at the University Eye Hospital Tübingen is very impressed by the BioRegio STERN Management GmbH initiative. „The Science2Start ideas competition is a great starting point for potential company founders when it comes to making valuable contacts and taking their ideas to the next level,“ he says. Schnichels and his team won a prize in 2014 for „nano-I-drops“. This product aims to optimise the effectiveness of eye drops using nanoparticles that are obtained from natural ingredients and can therefore be absorbed particularly readily by the eye.
Rahel Bleis, who is responsible for technology transfer management at BioRegio STERN Management GmbH and the contact person for Science2Start, gave a presentation on the ideas competition at the 10th Startup:con Tübingen on 8 February 2024. „An intensive process of sharing experience and information with experts makes it easier to get started independently. We help company founders turn their ideas into viable business concepts and create a successful start-up,“ she explains.
Closing date for entries for the 15th Science2Start ideas competition: 15 May 2024
https://www.bioregio-stern.de/en/announcement/science2start-ideas-competition-2024
Bildquelle: BioRegio STERN Management GmbH
About BioRegio STERN Management GmbH:
BioRegio STERN Management GmbH promotes economic development in the life sciences industry, helping to strengthen the region as a business location by supporting innovations and start-up companies in the public interest. It is the main point of contact for company founders and entrepreneurs in the Stuttgart and Neckar-Alb regions, including the cities of Tübingen and Reutlingen.
The STERN BioRegion is one of the largest and most successful bioregions in Germany. Its unique selling points include a mix of biotech and medtech companies that is outstanding in Germany and regional clusters in the fields of automation technology and mechanical and plant engineering.
Firmenkontakt
BioRegio STERN Management GmbH
Dr. Klaus Eichenberg
Friedrichstraße 10
70174 Stuttgart
+49 (0)711-870 354 0
http://www.bioregio-stern.de/en
Pressekontakt
Zeeb Kommunikation GmbH
Anja Pätzold
Alexanderstraße 81
70182 Stuttgart
+49 (0)711 – 60 70 719
http://www.zeeb.info