TU Ideas Competition
The ideas are in – and the next stage of the TU Idea Competition has officially started. Students, researchers, alumni, and interdisciplinary teams from across TU Darmstadt have submitted forward-looking concepts with real innovation potential.
Over the coming weeks, the jury will review the submitted ideas and select the finalists for the next round. The winning teams will pitch their innovations live on stage at the award ceremony during INNODAY26 on October 29.
A big thank-you to everyone who contributed their ideas, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit to this year’s competition.
Our Ambassadors
About the TU Ideas Competition
Jury “Scientist category”
• Dr. Gernot Berger, High-Tech Gründerfonds
• Prof. Dr. Carolin Bock, TU Darmstadt – Fachgebietsleitung Entrepreneurship
• Lars Gergen, Sparkasse Darmstadt und Dieburg
• Jan Hansmann, Fraunhofer LBF
• Dr. Oliver Hartkorn, WSL Patentanwälte Partnerschaft mbB
• Dr. Sara Jourdan, genow.ai
• Dr. Michaela Kauer-Franz, Custom Interactions GmbH
• Bettina Laurick
• Dr. Nicole Rath, CeraSleeve
• Dr. Gerhard Schwall, Merck KGaA
Jury “Category students”
• Gessica Cafaro Johannes, Universität Mainz
• Katja Farfan, Hessenmetall Verband der Metall- und Elektro-Unternehmen Hessen
• Maraja Fistanic, Lexemo
• Larissa Gräff, OhSheSells
• Dr. Andreas Kanstein, cesah GmbH
• Prof. Dr. Alexander Kock, TU Darmstadt – Fachgebietsleiter Technologie- und Innovationsmanagement
• Mathias Krätzer, Oddo BHF Bank
• Daniel Pfeffer, HEAG Holding AG
• Dr. Detlef Terzenbach, HTAI – Hessen Trade & Invest GmbH
• Dunja Tsoumanis, WSL Patentanwälte Partnerschaft mbB
Working together to advance ideas and innovations
All participants in the TU Idea Competition receive well-founded, qualified feedback from the expert jury. This provides a valuable basis for further developing their own concept in a targeted way and refining it strategically.
Professional support for finalists
The finalists also benefit from professional pitch training as well as individual coaching by the HIGHEST team – to optimally prepare for the jury presentation and the next steps.
Special highlight
Selected teams receive the opportunity to participate free of charge as exhibitors at the INNODAY26 and present their idea to a large audience from business, academia, politics, and the start-up scene.
Become part of the Rhein-Main start-up ecosystem
By participating in the TU Idea Competition, you become part of the strong start-up ecosystem in the Rhein-Main region. You can expect exchange with other founders, valuable contacts with industry, and access to a network that will accompany you on your further path.
All students, researchers, alumni, and members of TU Darmstadt.
Team applications are welcome, provided that at least one team member is affiliated with TU Darmstadt.
Prizes totaling 21,000 euros will be awarded at the final of the TU Idea Competition on 29 October 2026 at the darmstadtium.
Category: “Researchers”
- First prize: 3,000 euros (Sponsor: Hessenmetall)
- Second prize: 2,000 euros (Sponsor: WSL Patentanwälte)
- Third prize: 1,000 euros (Sponsor: Sparkasse Darmstadt and Dieburg)
Category: “Students”
- First prize: 3,000 euros
- Second prize: 2,000 euros (Sponsor: StartHUB Hessen)
- Third prize: 1,000 euros (Sponsor: Oddo BHF)
Special prizes
- Thomas Weiland Foundation “Special Prize Science”: 3,000 euros
- Merck Sustainability Prize: 3,000 euros
- hessian.ai Innovation Prize: 3,000 euros
Participation is confidential and jury members must sign a non-disclosure agreement. Personal data will not be forwarded by the organizer to unauthorized third parties, or used internally for other purposes.
To take part in the Ideas Competition 2025 you must submit a brief proposal online. Applications will be activated from 1 April to 2 June, 2025.
Applications can only be accepted if they are complete, in writing and received on time. The final deadline will be announced in due course.
Applications and supporting documents may be submitted in German or English.
Start-ups or companies do not have to be founded before taking part.
The idea must have been developed independently by the participants and must not infringe the rights of third parties.
Several ideas may be submitted per participant or team. A maximum of one proposal can be awarded per participant or team.
Winners of past TU ideas competitions may not apply again with the same idea.
The participants declare their willingness to present their idea during the final event and to participate in marketing and PR activities.
Participation in the competition implies acceptance of the terms and conditions mentioned here.
Legal recourse is excluded for prize money claims. Your ideas are safe with us and the copyright and the claim to your invention or idea remains your own.
Evaluation Criteria
The organizer and an external expert jury evaluate the submitted ideas based on the following criteria:
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Degree of innovation
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Customer benefit & unique selling proposition
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Market opportunities
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Feasibility
Application form
The next opportunity for innovative ideas from TU Darmstadt will open in spring 2027, when the new call for applications for the TU Idea Competition launches.
Simone Lühl
Start-up Coach HIGHEST; simone.luehl@tu-darmstadt.de
Jessica Retzlaff
HIGHEST
Simone Lühl über den TU-Ideenwettbewerb
Any Questions?
Sponsors and Partner
Thank you for your support!
Highlight 2025
Finale and award ceremony of TU- Ideenwettbewerb
TU-Ideenwettbewerb jury members
Winner of the TU-Ideenwettbewerb
Winners of the TU Ideas Competition
Winners 2025
Category: Scientists
1st Prize – NanoTi
Lukas Kluy and Nick Philippi from the Institute of Production Engineering
2nd Prize – Zenaris
Tim Jefferys (TU Darmstadt) and Hakan Evcek (Goethe University Frankfurt)
3rd Prize – autonomIQ
Erkut Sarikaya and Felix Hoffmann
Category: Students
1st Prize – Coalymar
Emanuel Nowak
2nd Prize – ZM WirePrint
Julius Zwickler and Marius Merten
3rd Prize – Coach AEye
Markus Reuter and Tobias Lingenberg
Special Prize for Science by the Thomas Weiland Foundation:
NanoTi – Lukas Kluy and Nick Philippi from the Institute of Production Engineering
Merck Sustainability Award:
Coalymer – Emanuel Nowak
Category: Scientists
1. Price: MetalH2eat from Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Hasse, Prof. Dr. Andreas Dreizler und Dr.-Ing. Marius Schmidt
2. Price: Lärmarme Kreissägeblätter from Sebastian Riess
3. Price: Fenexity from Benjamin Blat Belmonte
Category: Students
1. Price: Rettungsgassen-Warnsystem from Jonas Adi
2. Price: Beton als CO2-Speicher from Julian Gilbert
3. Price: E-Sense – Ejection Fraction Sensor from Khaled Abu Mustafa, Marc Philippi und Hazem Hassan
Sonderpreis Thomas Weiland-Stiftung:
TUcanSense from Evgenia Borisova, Jana Beier und Catalina Staver.
Merck-Nachhaltigkeitspreis: MetalH2eat from Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Hasse, Prof. Dr. Andreas Dreizler und Dr.-Ing. Marius Schmidt.
In the category “Scientists”:
1. Prize: CorEye – smart solutions for monitoring the condition of safety-critical structures by Dr. Nassr Al-Baradoni.
Sponsored by the entega Naturpur Institute.
2. Prize: MoProX – Molecular Proximity-Based Therapeutics by Dr. Christian Meyners, Prof. Dr. Felix Hausch, Johannes Dreizler, Thomas Geiger.
Sponsored by WSL Patent Attorneys European Patent Attorneys.
3. Prize: Motark – mobile autonomous monitoring system for flooding by Tim-Jonathan Huyeng.
Sponsored by Sparkasse Darmstadt.
In the category “Students”:
1. Prize: Gaffop by David Weiß.
Sponsored by IONOS.
2. Prize: Vertical Axis Wind Turbines with Wind Deflector Elements by Erik Kohler.
Sponsored by Deloitte.
3. Prize: Virotect, the CompuGene Student Lab with Conrad Knies, Annika Sonn, Antonia Schetle, Julian Kulenkampff, Kai Kabuth, Marlene Werner, Melina Baur, Micha Becker, Mohamed Taha Soudani, Moritz Domack, Nadja Eisenbruch, Nick Trettow, Timo Schuetz.
Sponsored by ODDO BHF.
Special Prizes:
1. The Special Prize for early innovative ideas with spin-off potential, sponsored by the Association of Friends of the Technical University of Darmstadt e.V., goes to Archiplan by Davy Karsenty.
2. The Special Prize for Science, sponsored by the Thomas Weiland Foundation, is awarded to MimoSense by Dr.-Ing. Romol Chadda, Dr.-Ing. Omar Ben Dali, Bastian Latsch, Stefan Trillig.
3. The Special Prize for Sustainability, sponsored by Merck and fluxum, is awarded to Vertical Axis Wind Turbines with Wind Deflector Elements by Erik Kohler.
Winners in the scientists category: 1. Constantin Rothkopf’s team with the interactive font AdaptiFont, 2. Stèphanie Dolique and Pascal Werner for their development of innovative electrolytes for supercapacitors that can help electric cars achieve greater ranges 3. Falah Alobaid and Pascal Koschwitz with their efficient wind energy storage systems HOPES!
Winners in the students category: 1. Bird mapper Marc Neumann, who aims to slow down bird mortality with the latest AI research, 2nd Lea Kablitz and Julian Betz for their combination solution of water filter, drinking bottle and continuous mineral supply called Hydrotwist and last but not least 3. Marlon Malter, who used AI to develop Visionary Codes that anyone can use to generate their own apps. Innovations from Darmstadt.
Students category:
1. Exenretter
2 Saftey system
3. Smarter.Earth
Winners in the scientists category
1 HCP Sense
2 CeraSleeve
3 MultiUserQKH
The Cisco Special Prize for AI was awarded to the Layover Solutions team.
The special prize of Smart City Darmstadt was awarded to Tiaras.
Winners in the scientists category:
1. CANNATEX
2. 3D scanners of the latest generation
3. Organiser
Winners in the students category:
1. Cure Curve Medical AI – Algorithm for early detection of coronary heart disease
2. AIMA – Artificial Intelligence Movement Analytics
3. GreenBot Solutions – Autonomous street cleaning
Special prize of Smart City Darmstadt
Development of a symbiotic concrete microcosm system for the biogenic generation of electricity
Winners in the students category:
1. Write For Me
2. KaiparaAdVRenture
3. NeSPA
Winners in the scientists category:
1. Sooqua
2. Perun
3. Caliberation
Winners in the students category:
1.
Soft exosuit
2.
Floating office
3.
Sensor patch
Winners in the scientists category:
1.
MagnoTherm Solutions
2.
InVerz
3.
Rapid Compact
Special prize
Floating Office
Audience Award
Rapid Compact
1.
Tillmann Schatz (SVEN-Smart ventilation)
2.
Christian Müller and Markus Rettig (HydroMove)
3.
Patrick Scholl (Adaptive shoe orthosis)
Winners in the scientists category:
1.
Jonas Plum (Odin)
2.
Martin Voigt and Jasmin Guthmann (Calyx)
3.
Elena Alexandrakis (self-healing asphalt)
1.
Florian Dassinger, Sebastian Quednau, Farough Roustaie and Olav Birlem (NanoWired)
2.
Steven Arzt, Siegfried Rasthofer, Marc Miltenberger and Prof. Dr. Eric Bodden (CodeInspect)
3.
Dr. Nicolai Erbs, Mirco Zeiß and Stefan Harnisch (Privalino)
1.
Dr. Markus Biesalski and Michael Jocher: Photoreactive wet strength agents for paper
2.
Matias Acosta, Rogério Salloum, Florian Burg, Sasan Hassanzadeh and Lukas Porz: Multifunctional Piezoelectric Robot
3.
Martin Klimach and Jakob Katz: Carbon Drive
Special prize
Jörg Gottschlich and Johannes Hiemer: Cloudscale – Broker for infrastructure services in the cloud
1.
Martin Dimitrov, Dennis Stapp, Deniz Ertogul and Philip Kieper: multidimensional piezoelectric surface force sensors (tire sensor), today http://pd2m.de
2.
Professor Steffen Hardt: Method for preparative DNA separation
3.
Johannes Stegner: Measurement, evaluation and optimization of the current carrying capacity of underground cable lines
1.
Walter Schäfer: Optical droplet analyzer, today http://aom-systems.com/
2.
Frank Englert, Constantin Müller, Jan Wissmann and Lukas Wagner: AlarmApp, https://www.alarmapp.org
3.
Hendrik Schaede, Maximilian Schneider and Lukas Quurck: Kinetic energy storage
1.
Onur Hamza Karabey: Phased array antenna
2.
Matthias Götz and Thomas Schulz: Social mailing
3.
Andreas Göritz: Software library for depth cameras
1.
Dr. Harald Sieke: Wipeo the windshield wiper cutter, http://www.wipeo.de/
2.
Prof. Mezini, Dr. Marcel Bruch: IDE 2.0, today http://www.codetrails.com
3.
Ghaith Noman: Back sensor
