UNIQUE - Idea competition

The UNIQUE Ideas Competition supports students, graduates, researchers, and staff members of the University of Greifswald, as well as the research institutes in and around Greifswald, in developing their ideas up to the point of starting a business.

First launched in 2006, the UNIQUE Ideas Competition was created to assist students, researchers, and staff of the University of Greifswald in transforming their ideas into business ventures. Since 2020, the project, funded by ESF (European Social Fund) resources from the state, has been managed by WITENO GmbH – the Science and Technology Park NORD°OST°, as a collaboration of business incubators in Greifswald, in cooperation with the University of Greifswald, the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) Greifswald, the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Greifswald branch, and the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, on the island of Riems.

In recent years, more than 120 research and student teams have each developed business concepts with validated potential, resulting in the creation of over 30 companies across various fields of the university.

• Students, Researchers, and Alumni of the University of Greifswald
• Employees of non-university research institutes in and around Greifswald (FLI, INP, HIOH, IPP)
• Interested individuals from the region with an ecological, economic, and/or socially innovative start-up idea

You can participate in the competition as an individual or as a team. If you are a team, at least one team member must meet the following criteria:

• The formal establishment of the business based on the submitted business idea must not have taken place at the time of registration for the competition.
• The idea must be independently developed by the participants and must not infringe on the rights of third parties.
• Multiple people can participate as a team. Ideas can, for example, be further developed in interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary teams.

Participation is confidential, meaning the jury members sign a confidentiality agreement. The personal data of the participants as well as the competition entries will be treated confidentially by the organizer and will not be passed on to unauthorized third parties.

The participants agree to present their idea as part of the awards ceremony, after prior consultation, and to participate in public relations activities. The participants also agree to the publication of the images and video recordings created as part of the awards ceremony.

Participants are obliged to ensure the confidential handling of the data made available to them. In particular, they are prohibited from disclosing personal or other sensitive data of other participant teams to third parties without their consent.

Participation in the competition implies acceptance of the terms and conditions mentioned here.
The decisions made by the jury are final.
Legal recourse is excluded.

No, it doesn’t matter if your idea is already fully developed, if you’re just starting, or if you don’t have an idea yet – you can participate in the competition at any stage. If your idea isn’t fully developed or if you don’t have one yet, the Fit2Start workshop series will help you further develop your idea and create the idea outline. Additionally, if you don’t have your own idea, you can also join a team here. We are happy to help you with idea development outside of the workshops as well, just get in touch with us!

If you want to participate without having an idea, there are two options: Either you join another idea, or you develop your own. For both, we recommend attending the Fit2Start workshops, as you’ll meet other aspiring founders and idea creators there. Feel free to reach out to us, and we can connect you with participants who are still looking for a team!

The UNIQUE Ideas Competition offers all participants an exciting, new experience where not only their ideas but also themselves can grow and develop. Through the Fit2Start workshop series and individual consulting and support throughout the competition, a motivating environment is created. Participants have the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals, exchange ideas, and support each other. The diverse range of prizes includes financial support and material rewards that help participants move forward with their ideas.

Lastly, it’s not just an opportunity to develop your business idea but also to enhance your own skills and competencies.

Our former participants can answer this question even better than we can. Take a look at the Hall of Fame page, where we asked last year’s teams about their experiences.

No, the participation is for free.

You don’t need a team to participate in the competition. You can take part completely on your own, but you also have the opportunity to find team members during the Fit2Start workshop series. Feel free to reach out to us as well; we might have a suitable team member in mind.

As soon as you can find the registration form under “Idea sketch”.

Fit2Start ist eine kostenfreie Workshopreihe, die Dich auf die Teilnahme am Wettbewerb vorbereitet. Wir bringen Dir von Grund auf alles bei, was Du zur Anfertigung deiner Ideenskizze benötigst. Dazu gehört neben dem Design Thinking auch ein Strategie- und Pitchtraining sowie die Markt- und Kundenanalyse.

Außerdem lernst du während der Workshops weitere Gründungsinteressierte und mögliche neue Teammitglieder kennen. 

Eine Teilnahme an der Workshopreihe ist nicht verpflichtend, um an dem Wettbewerb teilzunehmen. Trotzdem empfehlen wir jedem und jeder Wettbewerbsteilnehmer*in am Workshop teilzunehmen.

questions and consultations. We support you in developing your idea and concept, provide feedback on your idea outline, and help you with your business model. Since we are not part of the jury, we can offer individual and independent guidance. Contact us by email at: unique@witeno.de – or feel free to reach out directly to any member of our team.

The evaluation process is multi-stage. In Phase 1, the applications are not yet fully evaluated; it is merely a pre-selection for the next phases. The final evaluation by the jury only includes Phase 2 and Phase 3, which are the written idea outlines and the pitch before the jury. The evaluation of the idea outlines is submitted to us by the jury members before the jury meeting, so the pitch does not have a retrospective impact on that part of the evaluation.

The evaluation categories for the written assessment (50% of the total score) are:

• Innovation/Originality
• Market potential/Exploitation perspectives
• Customer benefit
• Feasibility/Implementability
• Motivation/Competence of the founder or team
• Regional significance/Structural impact for MV (only considered in case of a tie)

For the pitch before the jury, the following categories are evaluated:

• Presentation (10% of the total score)
• Discussion (30% of the total score)
• Entrepreneurial personality/Motivation (10% of the total score)

Actually, the real prize in the competition is the connections, the community, and the know-how you gain, but we also financially support the top three rated ideas to help you get them off the ground. The prize money is funded by our sponsors.

The specific prizes will be announced shortly.

The Ideas Competition takes place at several university locations in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The winners (excluding special prizes) of the competition have another opportunity to participate in the statewide “Inspired” Ideas Competition and present their idea again to a panel of experts. There are also numerous prizes available here. Additionally, the winners from all locations are invited to the Rock-it Week, an intensive 5-day workshop in Rostock, as well as to the Berlin Valley Tour.

You can find more information here. 

Your idea wasn’t awarded a prize, but you still want to move forward? Awesome! Although only 3 places are awarded in each category, that doesn’t mean only 3 ideas can be realized! That’s why we remain a contact for you even after the competition and continue to support you as needed with further development, your business plan, networking, or applying for funding.

Also, in Greifswald this fall, the next competition is already coming up: Businessplanwettbewerb Segel setzen! 

Check out our Hall of Fame or visit our Instagram-side ! You can find out how things can continue after the competition from former participants here.