For the third year in a row, the NEULAND Innovation Day offered the opportunity to discover the diverse innovation activities at KIT. More than 20 seminars and workshops contributed to this, ranging from financing options and patent law to the presentation of successful cooperations in the fields of mobility, information, and materials. This year, the Guided Tour, during which visitors could get to know all teams of the technology and start-up exhibition in a one-hour tour, was also very popular. Further information on the exhibitors can be found here.

The event was officially opened by Professor Dr. Thomas Hirth, Vice President for Innovation and International Affairs at KIT and patron of the event, together with Dr. Frank Ruff, Head of Future Trends & Insights at Daimler AG. "The dialog with industry and society as well as the presentation of innovative ideas and projects at KIT have a high priority for us. The aim is to transfer findings to the economy, to develop them further, and to bring them to the market together," says Prof. Hirth.

At the R2B Techpitch, KIT scientists presented current research results in three-minute short presentations. For the presenters, it was not only about presenting their technologies, but also about attracting the attention of cooperation and industry partners.

At the start-up pitch, young KIT start-ups had four minutes to present their business ideas to the audience. Among them were axxelera, Heisenberg Quantum Simulations, µyprint, Nesto, and Usertimes. The confident pitches were then evaluated by an expert jury consisting of Alexander Fauck (Technologiefabrik Karlsruhe), Ulrich Begemann (Voith), Alin Semenescu (Sparkasse Karlsruhe), Kai Blankenhorn (Capgemini), Dr. Frank Ruff (Daimler), Christoph Sagemann (LBBW Venture Capital GmbH), and Thomas Hoffmeister (Fabrikado GmbH).

The fans were not only on the edge of their seats during the World Cup match between Germany and South Korea, but also in the evening during the presentation of the NEULAND Innovation Award and the Founder Awards. This time, two teams shared first place in the founder pitch. Congratulations to Nesto and Heisenberg Quantum Simulations. The audience award also went to Heisenberg Quantum Simulations.

The winner of the NEULAND ideas competition was Prof. Dr. Jürgen Fleischer and Marius Dackweiler for their idea "Flexible, automated joining of lightweight profiles using innovative fiber winding technology" from the Institute of Product Development. First place in the special prize category went to Prof. Dr. Marc Weber and PD Dr. Nicole Ruiter from the Institute of Process Data Processing and Electronics for the project "3D USCT for multi-center study in China". An overview of all award winners of the Innovation Competition can be found here.

The subsequent keynote by Christian Klein, Chief Operating Officer and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, was dedicated to the topic "Innovate to win - Shaping digital transformation". He compared the culture of innovation in Germany with that in Silicon Valley and concluded that digital transformation must be seen as an opportunity rather than a risk. The keynote speech led into a late-night talk with Prof. Hirth, during which Klein took questions from the audience. The eventful day ended with an evening of networking. Late into the night and with musical accompaniment, the guests were able to exchange ideas and make new contacts in an open atmosphere.