The emphasis on knowledge transfer at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) continues apace. Young entrepreneurs from Bochum came out on top again in a recent state-wide contest. The winners include a start-up based at HGI.
Fledgling RUB spin-offs are justifiably proud of their success in the “Start-up University Spin-off” competition. Two of the six funded projects are based at the RUB, placing the university well ahead of its competitors in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) once again. With three of twelve funding commitments in the previous contest round, RUB came in a cut above its competition state-wide.
Inspiring young people: “This steady course of success shows that our strategy is paying off,” says Prof. Dr Andreas Ostendorf, RUB’s Vice Rector for Research, Knowledge Transfer and Early Career Professionals. “With our Worldfactory initiative, and its focus on knowledge transfer, we are looking to increase awareness of and interest in entrepreneurship among young people, so that they can go on and transform markets with their amazing ideas.”
The following start-ups from RUB received funding after the competition’s fifth round:
- Base Analytics: Michael Senske and Patrick Balzerowski calculate how valuable a footballer is to his team using methods they use in their doctoral research as part of the “Ruhr Explores Solvation” Cluster of Excellence. Using their algorithm, they need only about one hour to determine who is the league’s most valuable player – useful information for preliminary scouting.
- Cardcoin: The digital currency Bitcoin deserves to go mainstream in Germany too. Founders Felix Maduakor and Cedric Lehmann want to introduce ways to make it easier to get and use cryptocurrencies – via a pre-paid card that allows users in Germany to acquire Bitcoins easily or through straightforward online payments. Their goal is to introduce Bitcoins into people’s lives using the simplest possible method. Felix Maduakor and Cedric Lehmann are collaborating with the Chair for Systems Security, held by Prof. Dr Thorsten Holz, who is also on staff at the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security (HGI) at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
General note: In case of using gender-assigning attributes we include all those who consider themselves in this gender regardless of their own biological sex.