The DESIS Lab and ERA Chair in Social Innovation at Nova SBE along with the Nova SBE Haddad Entrepreneurship Institute are thrilled to announce the awardees for the Fall 2024 Prototyping Fund! This program, funded by the European Union, empowers students to shape the world through innovation. The Prototyping Fund provides teams of students with up to €600 or €2000, in case they are reaplying for a second round, to bring their ideas to life by building prototypes.
We are excited to share that this semester, we received a total of 27 applications and we have awarded funding to 15 teams. Among them are 12 new teams, bringing fresh perspectives and ideas to the table, as well as 3 teams continuing their journey from the previous cycle.
Over the semester, these awarded teams will dedicate their time to exploring, testing, and iterating on their prototypes. The kick-off of this 3rd and final cycle, under the Innonexus project, of Prototyping Fund kicked-off on October 07th. The selected projects encompass a diverse range of areas, including innovative materials made from recycled plastic and waste recovery, environmental solutions aimed at reducing food waste and promoting ocean sustainability. They also feature social impact ventures focused on empowering marginalized communities, such as migrant women and underserved populations, along with tech-driven solutions like digital platforms and health-tracking applications.
Stay tuned for updates on the progress of these teams and mark your calendars for the final showcase event, scheduled for Monday, November 25th, 2024, from 12.30 pm to 2 pm at the Nova SBE KPMG Gallery. Join us to witness the incredible prototypes crafted by these talented teams!
Fall‘24 Prototyping Fund Awardees
Shroom Jerky: Development of a high-protein mushroom jerky prototype that caters to health-conscious consumers. Team: Loïc Lauweriks (Nova SBE), Vittorio Di Castelferretto (Nova SBE), Inès Chougrani (Nova SBE), Levin Oliver Hutmacher (Nova SBE).
ReRoot: Creation of a new building material made from recycled plastic, featuring an outdoor meeting pod powered by solar energy. Team: Tom Storde (Nova SBE).
SétimaOnda: Development of an award system designed to engage Nova students in ocean and environmental sustainability initiatives organized by NGOs and other organizations. Team: Gabriele Inama (Nova SBE), Jelle Koopman (Nova SBE), Andrea Manzano (Nova SBE), Lorenzo Forlani (Nova SBE).
CoresDoMar: Designing an interactive dual-capsule fundraising aquarium for university campuses to raise awareness and funds for organizations dedicated to preventing ocean habitat destruction (connected with SétimaOnda). Team: Gabriele Inama (Nova SBE).
Waste to Light: Aiming to revalorize the waste produced by Nam Urban Mushroom, this project focuses on building a prototype that utilizes waste coffee grounds and agricultural straw. Team: Vittorio Ferretti di Castelferretto (Nova SBE).
Reshell: Recovery and valorization of shellfish waste (mussels, clams, and oysters) to promote sustainable practices in seafood consumption. Team: Luigi Sbalchiero (Nova SBE), Francesco Dorigo (Nova SBE).
EcoSlip: A mobile app and platform that replaces traditional paper receipts with eco-friendly digital alternatives, promoting sustainability in everyday transactions. Team: Špela Štrucl (Nova SBE).
Dignified: A user-security focused verifiable documentation storage solution for migrants, aiming to build a minimum viable product of a document database. Team: Lucas Soto (LSE), Gabriel Hall (LSE).
Seeds: Co-creation workshops with women and youth in Cartagena, Colombia, focusing on developing prototypes for a biodegradable sanitary pad. Team: Sarah Forero Bustamante (LSE), Angie Henriquez (LSE), Fernando Garcia Ayola (LSE).
Project Unfolded: A social media initiative that will become a workshop aimed at promoting emotional awareness through the collection and sharing of personal stories. Team: Jan Kuno Göhler (Nova SBE), Julius Kaiser (Nova SBE), Leonhard Kuenster (Nova SBE), Thierry Brunner (Nova SBE).
NutriFLow: A functional application designed for mobile devices that enables parents to track nutritional intake, stress levels, and symptoms to support faster diagnostic decisions. Team: Joanne (Nova SBE), Lily Tabea (Nova SBE), Maximilian D’heur (Nova SBE) and Paul Sittler (Nova SBE).
Cofeco: A product made out of coffee waste from coffee shops to create coffee cups (Nova SBE), Ji Yen (Nova SBE), Moritz Basse (Nova SBE).
Cascara Collective – All-Star Awardee: Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for a pioneering caffeinated, healthy lifestyle refreshment drink based on Cascara, the often-overlooked pulp of the coffee plant. Team: Amelie Lemmen (Nova SBE), Daniel Engler (Nova SBE), Lucas Obermeier (Nova SBE), Luis Warkentin (Nova SBE), Merten Precht-Rümenapf (Nova SBE).
Wasted Gin – All-Star Awardee: Aiming to tackle bread waste by transforming overproduced bread into locally produced gin, significantly reducing environmental impact. Team: Dang Thuy Ly Pham (Nova SBE), Ingo Schällig (Nova SBE), Paul Goller (Nova SBE), Sophia Marleen Koechy (Nova SBE).
Project Homelore – All-Star Awardee: Craft capacity-building workshops designed to uplift migrant women’s skills and empower them to enter the workforce. Team: Riddhi Varma (Nova SBE)