Created under the project Shaping the World by Innonexus, funded by the European Union, the Prototyping Fund aims to support students’ ideas for new products and services that intend to address social or environmental issues. It provides participants with resources to prototype and test their ideas. It is open to teams with at least one student from Nova SBE or the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
For this first iteration, the review committee selected 6 teams, all from Nova SBE, but across different Masters - Impact Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Management and Finance.
Sustainability was the keyword amongst most of the winning projects. From upcycling materials to addressing systemic issues like construction waste, aging, housing, and community engagement, all winning projects serve a purpose focused on the community.
Meet the Fall '23 Prototyping Fund Awardees
Rehome
This project wants to streamline the energy consulting and house sustainability process for German homeowners by automating building data collection and offering quicker results and insights. Henning Löbbert (Nova SBE) and Lea van den Berg (Nova SBE) are the people behind Rehome.
AGOJI Studio sewing workshop
Andreas Hämmerle (Nova SBE), Charlotte Kramer (Nova SBE), Hannes Tamme (Nova SBE), Linda Reitberger (Nova SBE), and Luis Link (Nova SBE) teamed up to make sustainable fashion more democratized. How? Through sewing workshops that foster creativity and appreciation for quality.
Community Workshops: Cultivating Sustainable Connections
The search for a healthy lifestyle has never been more hip. In addition, the macroeconomic scenario is making people rethink how they consume their essential goods. Johanna Pfeffer (Nova SBE) wants to turn the community into their own food supplier by introducing urban gardening and sustainable food production workshops as a pilot for the Nova SBE campus community garden initiative.
Bloomers
Affordable housing is one of the most significant issues students face right now. Pranta Kumar Saha (Nova SBE) and René Müller (Nova SBE) teamed up on a project that aims to join forces between the younger and older generations. By doing so, they expect Bloomers to mitigate housing affordability and loneliness, and support daily tasks between youngsters and seniors.
Obelix
Digital transformation is all over the place. However, at a glance, it is hard to imagine the construction sector taking advantage of technology for such a sensitive issue as waste dumping. Yet, Emma Fromell (Nova SBE), Lena Henke (Nova SBE), Lucas Obermeier (Nova SBE), and Luis Warkentin (Nova SBE) didn't think so. Their project tackles illegal waste dumping by incentivizing and connecting small construction companies with more prominent companies and municipalities through a digital platform.
Circle
Who knew tires and surf could be a match? Alice Maiorca (Nova SBE), Benjamin Soulié (Nova SBE), Livina Mazzoni (Nova SBE), and Victor Font (Nova SBE) found out that these two things might have more in common than one could think. Their project, Circle, aims to give old tires a second life by creating surf pads and turning this sport more sustainable.
What's next for the awardees?
Awarded teams will spend the next semester exploring, testing, and iterating on their prototypes. Each one is benefiting from up to 600€ in prototyping funds. Alongside the monetary funds, the teams have access to workshops focused on best practices in prototyping, equipment, and tools necessary for developing their projects. They will showcase their prototypes to the Nova SBE community and the public on November 26 at the Haddad Entrepreneurship Institute at 6:30 p.m. Stay tuned!