The state-wide business plan competition SEGEL SETZEN! came to a close on Monday, 18 November. With 18 submissions from all universities and non-university research institutions in our federal state, the number of participating start-up teams and individual founders increased once again compared to the previous year. The award ceremony was once again held at the Pomeranian State Museum in Greifswald. A "Sustainability Day" also provided the framework for an accompanying start-up fair. Ten regional and national start-ups with a business focus on sustainable services and products took the opportunity to present themselves and their products to around 180 guests. The event was accompanied by a varied programme of music and presentations.
For the second time, SEGEL-SETZEN! M-V-wide was organised. The business concepts submitted by students, graduates and researchers once again showed a broad spectrum of innovative business ideas. Entries were submitted in the technology fields of health, nutrition, aerospace, education, environment and IT. Dr Stefan Seiberling, Head of the Centre for Research Promotion and Transfer at the University of Greifswald (ZFF), welcomes the implementation of the competition as a state competition in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. "Over the past four years, we have built up a start-up ecosystem with Stapellauf NORD°OST°, which has led to a significant increase in the number of teams that set out on the path to entrepreneurial independence and ultimately set up their company. 18 teams from all over the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, most of them led by women, have submitted business plans, demonstrating their relevance and success. It is now a matter of maintaining this momentum in the future and increasing it even further."
As in previous years, the submitted concepts were evaluated by a cross-location and interdisciplinary jury of experts. The focus of the assessment was on the financial, technical and organisational implementation of the business concepts. Jury member Andreas Klier from ELUMIJA GmbH commented: "Not an easy selection! Many of the business plans were of high quality and we can look forward to seeing how these teams develop in the coming years. We are positive about the spirit that prevails in the local start-up scene. This makes us optimistic for more great start-up concepts and start-ups from science in the coming years, which we are happy to support." Thanks to the sponsors, lucrative prizes totalling 20,000 euros could be awarded. The prizes were provided by ELUMIJA GmbH, Stiftung Sparkasse Vorpommern, Rehaform GmbH and BDO AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Creditreform Mecklenburg-Vorpommern von der Decken KG and Volksbank Vorpommern eG. The University of Greifswald once again provided 3,000 euros for a special prize.
The winning teams can use the prize money to further develop and implement their concepts. Just as important, however, is the feedback and exchange with the experts from the jury as well as further support and networking after the competition. In the meantime, several start-ups have emerged from previous years' competitions or are in preparation. The first step is often an EXIST grant from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, which the start-up agency Stapellauf NORD°OST° helps to apply for.
1st place: BoneTech: Joana Büttner, Aila Klostermann, Mathis Hach, Arne Schirmer and Timon Pahl - a team from the University of Rostock. BoneTech - innovative bone solutions - develops high-precision 3D-printed artificial bones for the education and training of medical professionals and for mechanical implant testing. The unique selling point lies in the realistic reproduction of internal bone architecture, combined with a specialised material that simulates real bone properties. Through the use of additive manufacturing and artificial intelligence, BoneTech offers a cost-effective and detailed replica of human bone. 3D printing also enables the consideration of underrepresented patient groups, such as women and children, and thus supports the development of personalised, patient-specific solutions in medical technology.
2nd place: R-ModeRX - A marketable R-Mode receiver: Filippo Giacomo Rizzi, Dr.-Ing Lars Grundhöfer and a team from the German Aerospace Center in Neustrelitz have developed the R-Mode backup positioning system, which provides time, synchronisation and positioning independently of GNSS. The founding team wants to use the product to contribute to safe navigation in the Baltic Sea, but also worldwide.
3rd place: TRS Consulting & Services: The founding team from Greifswald University Medicine, consisting of Dana Stahl, Dr Martin Bialke and Dr Torsten Leddig, primarily aims to advise research projects on setting up and establishing trustee centres and, in the second stage of expansion, to take over the hosting of these trustee centres for customers. This is a form of data management in which highly sensitive personal data, such as the real names of study participants, is processed. Software tools that have been developed and continuously professionalised by the team for over 10 years are used here.
The Special prize of the University of Greifswald goes to Paula Straub for her concept Parent Guide. This is a digital education platform that helps parents to strengthen their children emotionally and socially and prepare them for the challenges of everyday school life. The special thing about Parent Guide is its holistic approach, which provides practical knowledge in the areas of bullying prevention, resilience promotion and mental health. Parents not only receive theoretical knowledge, but also concrete tools that they can apply directly in everyday life. With flexible online courses, live webinars and individual coaching, Parent Guide offers various formats that can be optimally adapted to everyday family life.
Further information
SEGEL SETZEN! is the annual business plan competition of the regional start-up ecosystem StartUP NORD°OST° and has been organised by the cross-university start-up agency Stapellauf NORD°OST° since 2020. The focus is on the concise presentation of the financial, technical and organisational implementation of a business concept. The business plan competition supports start-up teams consisting of students, academic staff or employees of universities or non-university research institutions with expert feedback and prize money. It builds on the annual university ideas competitions "UNIQUE" and "inspired", which are jointly organised by the state's universities and WITENO GmbH.
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