The double winner of the evening was young entrepreneur Deborah Contino-Sowa, who won both the audience award and the jury prize for her business idea ‘re:care’. All photos: herrfichtner/Furtwangen University
InnovationNight#9 at Furtwangen University: workshops, projects and exchanges with a tri-national dimension
Innovation Night is an evening dedicated entirely to the world of entrepreneurship and start-ups. This year’s ninth edition of the successful event, organised by Furtwangen University under the patronage of Gründergarten SBH, took on a whole new dimension; at “InnovationNight#9 meets KTUR-Project: A Trinational Bridge for Start-ups”, international partners from France, Switzerland and Germany came together to deliberately approach innovation and entrepreneurship from a cross-border perspective.
Innovation Night is when an entire evening becomes a space for ideas. Founders, students, business representatives and guests from academia, politics and society use the event for an inspiring exchange of ideas. “This is where ideas are born,” praised Lord Mayor Jürgen Roth in his welcome address at the Neue Tonhalle.
The focus this time was on collaboration with the trinational KTUR (Knowledge Transfer Upper Rhine) network. Within this consortium, Furtwangen University works alongside eleven other universities and higher education institutions from Germany, France and Switzerland, as well as key partner organisations from industry. KTUR receives around €2.5m in funding from the European Union under the Interreg programme; the total budget stands at approximately €5.8m. The aim is to establish a tri-national innovation ecosystem that brings together activities in the field of knowledge and technology transfer and raises the profile of the Upper Rhine region as a hub for technology-driven innovation across national borders.
Innovation Night is when collaboration takes shape. “Europe shows itself at its best where people come together, share ideas and create something new together,” said President Prof. Dr. Alexandra Bormann in her welcoming address. “We want to further strengthen European cooperation – between universities in projects such as KTUR, and through evenings like this one. Make the most of the networking opportunities, forge new connections, and let ideas emerge from these encounters.”
Innovation Night is when inspiration turns into plans. Workshops and panel discussions focused on how to build international partnerships and secure funding, how sustainable solutions are developed in practice, and which factors are crucial to the success of start-up teams – from the founders’ mindset to teamwork.
Innovation Night is when the stage belongs to ideas. During the ‘5x5 pitches’, founders presented five business ideas in just five minutes each and faced the judgement of a jury and the audience. The range of ideas spanned from IT and data protection solutions to innovative approaches in the healthcare sector. Also featured was a project from Furtwangen University: the ‘KOKEA Board’, which can be used in the care of dementia patients and helps to trigger memories through sound. The double winner of the evening was young entrepreneur Deborah Contino-Sowa, who won both the jury prize and the audience prize. With her home care service ‘re:care’, she aims to provide holistic support in the increasingly complex maze of the care system – from explaining diagnoses and assisting with applications and claims, to liaising with health insurance providers. With great personal commitment and drawing on her own experiences, she demonstrated how people who take on important care responsibilities for their relatives can be effectively supported.
Innovation Night is when exchange becomes a driving force. With reports on start-up support from three countries and a panel discussion on opportunities and possibilities in an economically and politically challenging time, InnovationNight#9 offered one thing above all else − inspiration. The focus was on the many options for cross-border cooperation that strengthen Europe as a hub for innovation – and which show that good ideas know no boundaries.
Further impressions
