Suche
Mein Konto
Innovative ideas sprout: LeafSync wins at the IDEA CUP 2025!
On April 25, 2025, teams at the University of Konstanz presented innovative business ideas at the IDEA CUP. Winner: Team LeafSync.
Innovative ideas sprout: LeafSync wins at the IDEA CUP 2025!
On the evening of April 25, 2025, the University of Konstanz the exciting Idea Cup Lake Constance will take place. Moderators Lisa Kuner and Jona Asbach led an event that was enriched with the presentation of innovative ideas for start-ups. Nine teams competed to present their business ideas to a top-class jury.
The jury was made up of experts, including Dr. Stephan Tögel, Friedrich Kisters, Tobias Fauth, Antje Freyth, Christina Groll and Christina Ungerer. The projects presented demonstrated a wide range of creative approaches. Team Built to Last presented durable, recyclable products, while Hocker+ offered an innovative solution for multifunctional furniture. Particularly noteworthy was Ana Laura's project “1001 Children's Books”, which aims to give away 100,000 books free of charge every year to children from families with poor education.
The winners of the evening
The LeafSync team impressed the jury with its sensor hardware that measures the stress level of plants and received the main prize of 1,000 euros. At the same time, LeafSync qualified for the state finals Start-up BW Elevator Pitch, which will take place in Stuttgart on June 2, 2025. The award for the best impact innovation was given to Ana Laura and to Mark and Marc from Team Built to Last for the tech innovation. Audience award went to Hocker+.
After the award ceremony, there was a friendly networking opportunity where participants were able to exchange ideas over food and drinks. The application phase for the Idea Cup 2026 will begin in the coming winter semester 2025/2026. This event is organized by the Kilometer1 initiative, which aims to strengthen the start-up culture at universities in the Konstanz region.
A look behind the scenes of the start-up competition
The Idea Cup is part of a larger framework of initiatives aimed at students, doctoral candidates and postdocs. In addition to the University of Konstanz, participating universities also include the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University, the Ravensburg-Weingarten University and the Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen. The finalists were determined over several rounds, and the event offered viewers the opportunity to follow the pitches live and vote for their favorite.
An important part of the start-up culture at universities is the EXIST program, which has existed for 25 years. This was launched to promote technology-oriented and knowledge-based spin-offs from German universities. EXISTS has made a significant contribution to establishing an entrepreneurial culture and has thus made it easier for numerous start-ups to become self-employed.
Through various programs and funding opportunities, such as the EXIST start-up scholarship, the support is continuously adapted to the needs of young founders. The challenges created by the pandemic were also addressed in order to specifically support AI start-ups during the difficult times. A pioneering project called “EXIST-Women” has just been launched to specifically support women interested in starting a business.