Bonn Impact Pitch Night highlights regional innovative strength

Alanus University involved in the successful “SoNaR” collaborative project

At the first Bonn Impact Pitch Night, five teams from the region presented their social-impact start-up ideas at the Digital Hub Bonn. The event is a highlight of the collaborative project “SoNaR – Starting social ventures, creating sustainable impact: Impact Cluster Region Bonn-Rhein-Sieg,” carried out by Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (H-BRS), and the University of Bonn. The aim of the project is to promote a vibrant, sustainable start-up culture in the region and to make innovative solutions to social, ecological, and economic challenges visible.

In front of around 100 attendees in the fully packed hall, five selected teams took to the stage and presented their ideas to a jury made up of representatives from the regional impact and start-up ecosystem. The three best concepts were awarded prize money of 3,000, 2,000, and 1,000 euros. First place went to the team Femi-ON with a medical innovation for the drug-free relief of menstrual pain. Second place went to the H-BRS start-up mobilityHQ, which presented a dashboard for the intelligent analysis of mobility data. The University of Bonn’s Science Music Show came in third. The format combines live music and live experiments to make complex scientific topics such as the energy transition accessible to a broad audience.

InterRegioReconnect, a team from Alanus University, was also among the finalists. The project impressed with sustainable ideas for regional transport that take current challenges in the mobility sector into account. Also reaching the final was the University of Bonn team SafeRouty, which developed an app for safe journeys home.

The evening opened with a keynote by Rebecca Göckel, co-founder of the vegan organic ice cream brand NOMOO, who highlighted the importance of impact-oriented business models for an economy fit for the future. “The Impact Pitch Night clearly showed how many impact-oriented ideas are emerging in our region,” says Paul Ziegler, who leads the SoNaR project at Alanus University together with Lukas Kiefer and co-hosted the evening with Karoline Noth (H-BRS). “With our start-up workshop and free start-up consultations, we at Alanus University want to strengthen this innovative spirit and encourage founders to see social responsibility and entrepreneurial action as naturally going hand in hand.”

The jury consisted of Christopher Franz (Office of Economic Development of the City of Bonn / Sustainability Hub Bonn), Rebecca Göckel (nomoo), Verena Hermelingmeier (Alanus University and bonnvivir GmbH), Jonathan Kümmerle (VEMO Logistik) and Patrick Weisker (Anthropia).

The project “SoNaR” is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy with resources from the European Social Fund Plus and strengthens the role of universities as catalysts for a sustainable and social-impact-oriented start-up culture in the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg region.

You can find a press photo for download here on the website of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.

Contact for press inquiries:
+49 (0)2222 9321-1944
presse@alanus.edu

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