Meet the ten finalists of the ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø Contest 2026!
On Wednesday 27 May, the Finalist Selection Event of the ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø Contest 2026 took place. The 10 finalists were announced, and multiple awards were handed out.
CELEBRATING STUDENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Last Wednesday, May 27, the hall of ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø's Atlas building turned blue for the Finalist Selection Event of the ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø Contest 2026. The participating students came together in Atlas to present their concepts during an inspiring poster market. With students, partners, jury members, coaches and other guests, it turned out to be a day full of energy, sharp pitches and real-world insights.
The ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø Contest 2026 started last February with over 190 registered participants across 69 teams. After three sprint sessions, several workshops and feedback sessions with partners and coaches, the participants were ready to share their innovative ideas with a wider audience during the Finalist Selection Event.
PITCHING, FEEDBACK AND (FAKE) FORTUNES
The event kicked off with an Exhibition around lunchtime, where visitors could discover the participants' ideas, share their tips and tops through feedback cards, and vote for the Best Poster Award.
Later in the afternoon, more than 40 teams took part in the poster market. Alongside their posters, they pitched their ideas, showcased prototypes and explored each other's projects. Participants could even invest (fake) money in the teams they believed in, helping to decide which teams would advance to the Finals.
The excitement continued when the partners joined the poster market. After hearing the pitches and speaking with the teams, they cast their votes for the finalists and selected the winner of the Partners' Choice Award.
The jury saw a lot of talent, and we were surprised by the quality of all the ideas. We encourage all teams to continue working on their projects. We were also happy to meet many interdisciplinary teams that have been developing their ideas with input from researchers and industry. In isolation, you create nothing, so it is really important to work together.
Renato Calzone from ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø Knowledge Transfer Office, jurymember of the Impact Award
FROM POSTERS TO PRIZES
After a long day of pitching, it was time for the award ceremony where the ten finalists were announced!
Congratulations to: Blue Iceberg, CUE (Team HART), iGEM, LEVNET, MediCycle, mOcean, MoveMie, Parkinsense, Stacklink and StuRent! These teams will compete for the Grand Prize, 1st Runner-up and 2nd Runner-up at the ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø Contest Finals on June 11. Scroll down to read more about their projects.
And that was not all. The following teams went home with a big cheque:
Impact Award: Sunken Robotics & MoveMie
Partners' Choice Award: MoveMie
Best Poster Award: StuRent
ASML Makers Award: LEVNET
EAISI AI Incentive Award: Team GAIA
AI Award (by Braventure): Dual Guard
Sparking Innovation Award (by Bosch): ARC
Grow@Twice Award: Sunken Robotics
We want to congratulate all teams that will go to the Finals and/or won a cheque. And to all other teams, we'd like to remind you of what Lex Hoefsloot (co-founder of Lightyear and business developer at KTO and EAISI) said while handing out the EAISI AI Incentive Award:
From experience, I know the journey itself is what counts. Every team here is learning something invaluable, whether you win or lose. So to the teams that didn't take a prize or make the Finals: don't be discouraged. The next great student team or start-up often starts exactly where you are now.
Meet the finalists
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