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In isolation you create nothing

Meet the ten finalists of the ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø Contest 2026!

June 2, 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.

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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

iGem

At SERTAN, we are committed to making organ transplantation safer and more effective for all parties involved. Re-engineering the bodies own immune system to recognize transplanted organs, allows for donor-specific, targeted prevention of organ rejection, reducing side effects and patient burden compared to conventional broad immunosuppressive treatments.

MediCycle

MediCycle tackles medication waste by changing how medicines are distributed. Our dispensing solution provides only the required doses while preventing unused medication from being discarded, helping reduce costs, minimize environmental impact, and move healthcare toward a more sustainable and circular system.

LEVNET

At LEVNET, we are establishing a resilient backup communication channel for emergencies using a decentralized mesh network. By using everyday smartphones and our smart routing protocol, we ensure continuous, energy-efficient connectivity when traditional networks fail, empowering citizens to request help without expensive hardware.

MoveMie

This MoveMie, called OverDeTop, is an interactive staircase that transforms a pediatric hospital room into a playground. It empowers children to autonomously engage in daily movement outside of formal physiotherapy sessions. Through its unique shape and multi-sensory game design, the staircase naturally activates key muscle groups and stimulates activity in both single and multiplayer modes.

Stacklink

Every company is about to run on a brain: one place that knows everything it knows, with AI working on top. Stacklink connects Drive, Slack, Notion, GitHub and more, turning any internal question into a clear, sourced answer in seconds. AI agents then handle repetitive work like onboarding, contracts, and meeting prep. It all runs on European clouds or fully on-premise. Your knowledge stays yours.

CUE

At HART, we are developing a discreet wearable device called CUE that helps users understand the emotional cues of conversations in real time. By analyzing vocal hints and translating them into simple, intuitive feedback, the device supports inclusive communication, particularly for individuals with autism.

Parkinsense

At Parkinsense, we aim to develop a non invasive wearable device that can be used to more effectively monitor the progression of Parkinson's disease. This will allow for better care to be provided to patients through more accurate and extensive data. It will also lessen the burden on the medical system, allowing doctors to focus their energies elsewhere.

Blue Iceberg

Blue Iceberg builds a circular recovery network for cold-chain temperature data loggers. We collect discarded devices from hospitals and route them through two pathways. For manufacturers with existing refurbishment programs, we return their loggers for a fee. For manufacturers without this capability, we provide resetting and refurbishment as a service, preparing the loggers for return to the manufacturer for reuse. This reduces costs, waste and strengthens ESG performance.

mOcean

At mOcean, we aim to accelerate ocean floor mapping and understanding using a self-sufficient, renewable energy powered unmanned platform that acts as a hub for charging a deep-sea exploration device, enhancing scientific knowledge of the seabed.

StuRent

StuRent is an AI-powered student housing platform that simplifies the rental process in the Netherlands. By aggregating listings, automating applications, and providing AI-assisted contract review, we reduce search time, increase efficiency, and help students secure housing faster and more confidently in a highly competitive market.

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