Kilometer1 - the common startup initiative of the University and HTWG Konstanz
Studies and research are perfect starting points for innovative projects. The goal of Kilometer1 is to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit and the start-up culture at both universities, as well as to motivate all university members to start up with our diverse range of services. Whether in consulting, workshops, with the toolbox or at events: we support you in finding ideas and their implementation. Regardless of whether you already have a concrete idea for a spin-off or are just interested in founding in general - our team will be happy to answer your questions.
The Kilometer1 newsletter also provides information on all current funding programs and news from the startup world in Constance.
Ideas Competition Kilometer 1 Awards
The Kilometer1 Awards are an inter-university ideas competition for all students, doctoral candidates and postdocs of the universities of Konstanz. In addition, alumni who have already successfully founded a company also have a chance to win. The idea to be submitted can come from any department. What is important is that it offers a new approach and is characterized by a special innovative character compared to already existing solutions. The awards will be presented in three categories:
1. "Students Founder Award" for students
2. "Science Founder Award" for doctoral students and postdocs
3. "Founder of the Year" for successfully established startups of the Constance universities.
Finalists can win 1,000 euros in prize money in each category and an exclusive workshop lasting several days. The next round will start in spring 2023. Further information and registration here
Current winners of the Kilometer1 Awards 2022
Science Innovation Award 2022 - InnoCell/Uni Konstanz
The current winner of the Science Innovation Award is CellAlarm. Clovis Hugues Seumen Tiogang, a PhD student in the Department of Biology at the University of Konstanz, is behind "CellAlarm". Bacterial contamination is highly problematic in products that are injected or implanted into the body. To monitor such contaminants, biological detection systems are used that are ethically questionable, slow or cannot be used in a production environment. "CellAlarm" is an extremely sensitive, ultra-fast and convenient bio-detector that enables highly specialized and cost-effective monitoring of microbial contaminants in a short time.
Student Innovation Award - ReDrive/HTWG Konstanz
The winning team of ReDrive consists of Frauke Müller, student in International Project Engineering at HTWG with a group of former members of a Formula Student team. With their startup, they want to implement a licensing model that enables companies to recycle neodymium-iron-bore permanent magnets using a newly developed technology and thus reduce the ecological footprint of rare earth use. In particular, companies that install electric motors and therefore require a large amount of neodymium could use the recycled material in the future.
Founder Of the Year/Uni Konstanz - sklls
The Constance-based startup sklls is an interactive coaching app for innovative personnel development to promote employee strengths. With its web apps, sklls encourages employees to self-reflect so that they have the opportunity to develop and optimize themselves instead of getting stuck in routines and their own limitations. The employees are guided through the process by the digital coach "Sally".
Founder Of The Year/HTWG - OpenDress
OpenDress is a Constance-based startup and works with the latest 3D technology and machine learning to produce fitting clothes. To do this, the startup uses 3D body scans, size recommendations, virtual try-ons, data analysis and 4D tailoring patterns. The mission of founder and PhD student at HTWG Verena Ziegler and her team is to reduce returns in the fashion industry, extend the lifecycle of products and enable digital customization.
