On 9 July 2025, the state finals of the INSPIRED ideas competition took place in Greifswald – and Wismar University of Applied Sciences emerged as a double winner. Two student teams convinced the expert jury with outstanding pitches and received the first and second place in the category “Students & Trainees”.
First place went to “Navoko”, a team of four students from the Maritime Studies programme: Bastian Gabriel, Marcel Boelsch, Karl Schlüter and Elliott Steinberg. Their idea – a satellite-independent navigation system using solar data – was praised for its relevance and innovation as a future-proof GPS backup solution.
Second place was awarded to Svea Bublys, a Master's student in the Entrepreneurship programme. Her project “Mjölkav” brings barista-grade plant-based milk to the retail sector and sparked enthusiasm among the jury for its market potential.
Both teams qualified through the regional finals in Wismar and received full support from the Robert Schmidt Institute. The state finals were hosted at WITENO – the science and technology park in Greifswald – and concluded with an award ceremony at the Pomeranian State Museum.
All prizewinners will now take part in follow-up training, the Rock-it Week, and the Berlin Valley Tour – gaining access to investors and the regional start-up scene. A resounding success for Wismar’s next generation of innovators.