Three days of tech workshops, prototyping, and networking—and at the end, three winning teams. This year's UnternehmerTUM Techfest 2019 once again attracted over 500 participants from over 20 countries to spend a weekend exploring real-world challenges and developing exciting ideas.
"Create the world we want to live in" was the motto of Techfest 2019, which UnternehmerTUM organized for the fourth time this year in cooperation with the Technical University of Munich. Over 500 participants from over 20 countries and interdisciplinary fields came to Garching to work on challenges posed by corporate partners and the city of Munich. In the Makerspace, UnternehmerTUM's 1,500 square meter high-tech workshop, participants were able to build their first prototypes and utilize the latest tech gadgets such as microcontrollers, VR headsets, drones, and various sensors for their ideas in the Hardware Library.
The idea behind the Techfest: a win-win situation for partners and participants. The three-day event is designed to provide partners with direct access to young professionals. It also allows them to position themselves as innovative companies and provide them with new approaches to solving real-life scenarios and business cases (the respective challenges).
The participants, on the other hand, should benefit from the infrastructure of the UnternehmerTUM, broaden their own knowledge and experience horizons and be able to get in touch with interesting companies and potential employers.
The reinvention of the wheel
This year's challenge topics were once again broad: from smart building technology to healthcare issues, from the use of robotics in the painting trade to the reinvention of the wheel. The following three teams were chosen as winners at the end of Techfest 2019:
- 1st place: Immortar Journey developed a cost-effective and intelligent hand mixer for Wacker. It's equipped with sensors and an app that provides real-time instructions for applying high-tech mortar.
- 2nd place: Sprai X Pro presented an intelligent paint gun for Wagner & Roboport that delivers perfect results through the use of AI (artificial intelligence) technology and can also be used by rental companies.
- 3rd place: Corner Module 4 Live developed an innovative corner module for Magna that is also suitable for autonomous driving.
“At Techfest we experience real entrepreneurial perseverance”
Martin Gotschlich, Head of UnternehmerTUM and project manager, was enthusiastic about the fourth Techfest 2019:
"The Techfest proves time and again how the needs of companies and talents can be met in a playful way. Technical innovations as a stimulus for the economy, which often lead to the founding of new startups, are the logical consequence."
And Felix Haas, Business Angel and co-host of Bits & Pretzels, added:
"At Techfest, we experience true entrepreneurial perseverance. I met a team this weekend that was participating for the third time. The tenacity young people demonstrate here is needed to continue to be successful entrepreneurs in the future."
