Find out at the TU Ideas Competition whether your innovative idea or your achieved research result is viable or could even become a breakthrough. Register yourself or your team without any risks, receive qualified feedback from our expert jury and, with a bit of luck, win prize money of up to € 3,000. Let us support you in your breakthrough, fulfill your dream of your own start-up or make your research available to the economy.

The TU Idea Contest 2021 ends on September 10, 2021. Fill out the idea outline (opens in new tab) and submit your idea now!

• Participation is possible as an individual or as a team.
• Students, scientists, graduates and employees of the TU Darmstadt are eligible to participate.
• When participating as a team, it is sufficient that one team member fulfills this condition and is indicated as the contact person. The other team members don't have to be students or members of the TU Darmstadt.

Category 1: Students

1st place: 3.000,00 €

2nd place: 2.000,00 €

3rd place: 1.000,00 €

Category 2: Scientists, graduates and employees

1st place: 3.000,00 €

2nd place: 2.000,00 €

3rd place: 1.000,00 €

Special prize of the Digitalstadt Darmstadt for ideas in the field of Smart City, IOT, data analysis

Special prize 1.500€

• The Participation is confidential, i.e. the jury members sign a non-disclosure agreement. The personal data of the participants will neither be passed on to unauthorized third parties nor used internally by the organizer.
• The Participation in the TU Ideas Competition 2021 is possible from 10.06.2021 by submitting a short idea outline via the participation form provided on the website or by submitting both files provided here via e-mail at events@highest.tu-….
• Only applications that were completely filled out and received in time by 10.09.2021 (23:59) can be accepted.
• You can submit your idea in English or German.
• The formal foundation should not yet have taken place at the time of submission.
• The idea must have been developed independently by the participants and should not infringe the rights of third parties.
• Several idea proposals may be submitted per participant or team. A maximum of one proposal per participant or team can be awarded a prize.
• Winners of previous TU Idea Competitions should not apply again with the same idea.
• Participants agree to present their idea at the final event and to participate in public relations.
• Participation in the competition implies agreement with the conditions of participation stated here.
• The legal process is excluded (refers only to claim for the prize money. Your ideas are safe with us and the copyright and the claim to your invention or idea remains with you).

The organizer and an external jury of experts will evaluate the submitted ideas based on the following criteria:

• Degree of innovation
• Economic potential
• Feasibility
• Customer benefit
• Unique selling proposition
• Market opportunities

They will select the finalists in the two categories. The decision on the winners will then be made after the finalists have presented their ideas to the jury of experts.

Overview: Award winners of the last years (atm only in German)