{Appointment} Successfully founding a start-up from your studies: Environment Prize in Sydney

You may think what you want about Microsoft software, at least support it Companys Boy, innovative ideas with its own ideas competition, the international Imagine Cup. The German winners are also internationally successful.

Innovative ideas on the advance

An innovative navigation system and software that enables mobile phone telephony for the deaf are the winners of the German final of the Imagine Cup, which took place on April 30.04.2012th, XNUMX in the Kalkscheune Berlin.

Students at the University of Applied Sciences in Hanover and the Uni Bielefeld belgten with their Projects Greenway took first place in the Software Design category. In the Windows Phone category, the Echo project by students at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology .

Navigation software that reduces CO2 emissions

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Greenway is an innovative navigation system that significantly reduces the CO2 emissions of vehicles and thus protects the climate. The System orchestrates traffic in an absolutely optimal way thanks to a novel distributed algorithm.

In contrast to conventional navigation systems, which only shift traffic jams from one street to another afterwards, Greenway takes a completely different approach. Greenway reserves time slots for vehicles on the streets and can thus actively prevent traffic jams.

Mobile phone with subtitles

Echo, the project by students from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, won this year's final in the Windows Phone category. Echo makes it easier for millions of deaf people Communication in a Welt full of hearing.

A closed-captioned phone makes listening easier by using speech recognition to display what is being said as text on the deaf person's smartphone. In addition, a language trainer, similar to karaoke games such as Lips or SingStar, visualizes the pronunciation of the deaf and offers him that Feedback, which his ears cannot deliver.

To the procedure

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To mark the 10th anniversary of Microsoft's ideas and technology competition, the national final took place at the Windows 8 Student Technology Conference 2012 in Berlin in April. More than 300 technically enthusiastic students came together here.

The Imagine Cup is held in different categories, such as software design, game design, IT Challenge or Windows Phone Programming. There is a national final in the categories Software Design and Windows Phone Programming, in the other categories the German participants compete online against teams from all over the world.

Imagine Cup as part of the teaching

The Imagine Cup has been integrated into teaching at universities and colleges for several years. On the one hand through individual mentoring of the teachers but above all through the integration of the competition into software internships or exercises.

Example TU Dresden: At the beginning of the winter semester, students of the Faculty of Computer Science at TU Dresden can apply for places in an Imagine Cup software design internship apply. This Imagine Cup complex internship at the TU Dresden is recognized as a regular course achievement.

What does participation bring

As part of the internship, the students take part in the Software Design category of the Imagine Cup and can earn a certificate at the same time. To do this, the teams of 3 - 4 students have to create a complex software solution that solves a self-selected problem in the Imagine Cup subject area, draw up.

But what do the winners have from their victory? Apparently you can network and get tips from, among others, company representatives from Sony and Nokia. How helpful that is given the fact that Nokia is currently being sued by its own shareholders for the failure of Windwos Phone - the young inventors have to see for themselves.

The intellectual property rights remain with the students

To bet on a different horse than Windows Phone, i.e. Android or Apple, seems to be more advantageous in this context if it is to become a sustainable business idea. Because the property rights to the developments remain with the students. Microsoft guarantees according to the FAQ:

"We fully respect the students' IP ownership."

However, Microsoft does not support the winners any further: There are no plans to hire the winners, even if some students were apparently taken on. And the further development of the idea is not necessarily supported. After all, Microsoft is providing $3 million over the next three years to help teams achieve their biggest Problems to solve. Students must apply separately for this support. In view of the fact that two to four scholarships are to be awarded every year, that's more like a drop in the bucket!

German winners in software design also internationally successful

After all, the German winners are also internationally successful: Christian Brüggemann (Bielefeld University), Elia Franke (Hanover University of Applied Sciences) and Helge Holzmann (Leibniz Uni Hannover) had already won in the software design category with their mentor Sebastian Heise in the German final shows the three winners.

Now they were able to convince an international jury of experts at the international finals of the Microsoft Imagine Cup in Sidney, which has been held since 2003, and thus secured the first prize of the “Coca Cola Environmental Sustainability Award”, which was endowed with $ 10.000.

The idea: navigation that prevents CO2 emissions

The idea they Success led, is an innovative navigation system that significantly reduces the CO2 emissions of vehicles and thus protects the climate. The system orchestrates traffic in an absolutely optimal way thanks to a novel distributed algorithm.

Fittingly, the system is called Greeneway. And that works quite differently than conventional navigation systems, the congestion relocate only from one road to another: Greenway reserves namely time slots for vehicles on the roads and can thus actively prevent traffic jams.

The Germans are eco-world champions who win Ukrainians

Incidentally, they won the highly endowed winner's check in the “Software Design” category of US $ 25.000 Team quadSquad from Ukraine. Your project “Enable Talk” helps dumb and deaf-mute people to communicate easier and better with the help of a glove.

The glove translates gestural language gestures into spoken language, which is then played back on a smartphone. Various sensors on the glove make this possible and make it easier for people who rely on sign language, the communication.

From price gain to marketability

"We are very pleased that our idea was praised by the jury and that this award also gave us confirmation that Greenway was convincing and had a real chance on the market," says Christian Brüggemann, one of the Greenway inventors.

“Although we did not win in the main category, we are of course continuing to pursue our project. We use the prize money to found our start-up, ”says Elia Franke.

Microsoft takes criticism seriously and supports founders beyond the win

Meanwhile, Microsoft has mine in the last one Article expressed Criticism taken seriously and reacted accordingly in his press release: After I had asked in the last article what the Founders of their prize, it is now emphasized that the student spin-offs will continue to be supported after the competition:

“Microsoft is very keen to support the young developers in all phases of their project even after the final. In addition to the Imagine Cup, there are initiatives such as Microsoft BizSpark, which, in addition to access to Microsoft technologies, offer such important support and networking with start-up initiatives, investors and consultants. ”

Successful founder of the last years

The press release also refers to Imagine Cup winners from the last 9 years, who later succeeded with their idea, such as Team GINA, participants of 2010, who helped with their application in the rescue and reconstruction work in Haiti. And also Professor Dr. Florian Matthes from the Faculty of Computer Science at the Technical University of Munich, member of the international jury, is quoted as saying:

“Regardless of whether you win or not, the chances at the Imagine Cup are unique. My advice to Team Greenway: You should definitely use the worldwide contacts here. ”

Nevertheless, it is of course a shame that only technology-intensive start-ups are promoted at such events. Students of humanities or social sciences have a much harder time.

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