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Winners Philips Innovation Awards 2023 are set to make the world a better place

Listening and learning from plants

After eight pitches in the Innovator and Rough Diamond categories, the jury retreated to reach a conclusion. They judged the pitches based on the innovative nature, the feasibility of execution and the team behind the idea. “It took some tough debates and passionate exchanges of the jury, but we came to a conclusion,” said CEO of Philips and chair of the jury, Roy Jakobs. Plense Technologies, founded as a spin-off of Delft University of Technology, won the Rough Diamond Award and 10,000 euros. Through ultrasound, the young entrepreneurs want to “listen and learn” from the needs of plants to make plant cultivation more efficient and effective.

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Disrupting the heparin market

One in three patients in the hospital need to be treated with heparin to prevent blood clotting. One billion pigs are needed annually to meet this global need. To reduce dependence on animals, ExCulture has developed a fermentation method that is scalable over the long term. Their business case earned them the Innovator Award and 50,000 euros to further develop their idea. “This amount will help us to further characterize and validate our product and get one step closer to market introduction,” said winners Aisling Foley and Ilaria Poledri.

 

Wide range of game-changing ideas

From more sustainable space travel, to using fungi to replace synthetic textile dyes, to extracting sustainable energy from the horizontal movement of waves, the diversity of ideas from the entrepreneurs participating shows how students in the Netherlands want to contribute to making society more sustainable. “I am pleased to see that the theme of sustainability is so outspoken in this edition of the awards,” said Roy Jakobs. “Sustainable and disruptive thinking is what we need to make the world a better place.”

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Largest student entrepreneurship awards in The Netherlands

The Philips Innovation Awards is the largest student entrepreneurship awards in the Netherlands, organized by and for students. Over a period of four months, the students develop their idea from a one-pager to a business plan. Students participating receive expert coaching, access to a large network of investors and personal training guidance.

 

This news item is a copy of the article previously published by the Philips Innovation Award on May 17, 2023.
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