With the DurchStarter Student Start-up Competition, Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences launched and successfully carried out its first-ever idea competition for student startup projects.
The format impressively demonstrated just how much entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, and startup potential exist on campus. The competition, organized by StarterWerk, HSM’s startup service, kicked off in November 2025 as part of National Startup Week and concluded at the end of June with an exciting pitch finale.
From a total of 21 submitted concept papers, five finalist teams were selected to present their projects to a panel of experts, numerous guests, and the university community. To specifically prepare the teams for the finals, StarterWerk organized a pitch training session led by Catharina Wassink. The focus was not only on delivering a compelling presentation but, above all, on precisely communicating business models, customer benefits, market logic, and next steps for development under time pressure.
The final round itself was deliberately kept concise: a five-minute pitch, followed by about five minutes of questions from the jury. This condensed format highlighted what matters most for startup ideas in the early stages: a clearly defined problem, a comprehensible solution, a realistic view of the target audience and market, and a willingness to use critical questions productively to further develop one’s own idea.
The range of concepts presented was broad, spanning from digital platforms to innovative technological solutions. Joy Njihia took first place and a cash prize of 500 euros for Mazao – Coffee Trading Platform, a solution designed to connect coffee cooperatives and small roasteries in a more transparent and efficient way. Second place and 300 euros went to Aafreen Ramani for “Mieto,” a peer-to-peer rental platform for everyday items that focuses on trust, verification, and local communities. Third place and 200 euros went to Oleg Velichinskii for “LITOS – 3D Printed Concrete Construction System,” a concept for 3D concrete printing in the construction sector.
The other finalist ideas also demonstrated the wide range of approaches to entrepreneurship at HSM: SafeCircle introduced a preventive safety ecosystem, while Wi-VCare presented an AI-powered, camera-free monitoring system for older adults designed to combine safety and privacy.
For StarterWerk, the successful premiere of the DurchStarter competition is more than just a well-executed one-off event: The format combines visibility, training, jury feedback, access to a network, and concrete follow-up opportunities in startup consulting. It thus creates a low-barrier entry point for students who want to further develop their own ideas or take their first steps toward starting a business.