Hessen Ideen Scholarship

Demand reached a new high. 98 teams applied for the funding, more than ever before. “This is a striking demonstration of the innovative power, creativity and entrepreneurial potential within Hessen’s universities,” says Timon Gremmels, Hessian Minister for Science and Research, the Arts and Culture and patron of Hessen Ideen. The twelve teams take on social and economic challenges and turn them into concrete solutions.

The three Darmstadt teams reflect this range:

• KinetiCAD Solutions is developing AI software that interprets CAD models and supports engineers in creating robotic production instructions. This lowers costs and makes robotic manufacturing accessible to small and medium-sized companies as well. The team behind it is Yusuf Bera Demirhan, Chloe Michelle Grimes and Yaniv Sharon.
• Tooliip supports people with Parkinson’s and their relatives in everyday life. Through voice interaction the application documents symptoms and turns them into structured progress reports for the treating physicians. This makes complaints visible that would otherwise go unnoticed between the rare medical appointments. The idea was developed by Max Gudzent, Wendi Shu and Enrique Gutierrez Simões.
• Workcraft automatically converts spoken or photographed input from tradespeople into material lists, quotes and invoices. The multilingual software handles the paperwork directly on the construction site and relieves businesses that have no office staff. The project is run by Jenny Kantor and Aron Spang.

Hessen Ideen is the central state initiative for start-up ideas from Hessian universities. It supports students, researchers and graduates in developing their business ideas. The scholarship provides up to 2,500 euros per month per person, a structured qualification programme and individual coaching. UniKasselTransfer coordinates the initiative together with HIGHEST at TU Darmstadt.