With a washing machine on stage, he immediately captured the audience's attention and ultimately convinced the jury: Under the dome of the former Art Nouveau bathhouse in Friedberg, computer scientist David Sayk presented his business idea "Buyes – Reviews without an expiration date" and secured victory and a prize of 2000 euros at this year's THMstart-up competition, Ideeco. A total of nine teams presented their concepts in the final.

The ideas competition is organized by the THMincubator THINK and is aimed at innovative projects in areas such as sustainability, robotics, artificial intelligence, health, and other future-oriented fields. "IdeaCo stands for a wealth of ideas, a spirit of innovation, and courageous teams coming together," said Vice President Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jochen Frey in his welcoming address. Ideas are the foundation for innovation, he emphasized, but their implementation is crucial. He advised the teams: "Don't get too hung up on your pitches, but rather on your ideas and products."

With "Buyes," the winning entry aims to create more transparency when buying electronic devices. The tool is conceived as "a platform you open before buying an electronic device" and focuses on long-term experiences rather than one-off star ratings. Each device is documented in a digital product passport, which makes it easy to understand how reliable and durable a product is. "A great idea that solves a problem each of us has encountered in everyday life," was the jury's final verdict. In addition to its practical benefits, the presentation also made a strong impression, explained Prof. Dr. Katrin Pertschy from the Department Business Administration and Engineering justifying the jury's decision.

Amir Hossein Mansouri Koshkghazi also landed on the winner's podium. With his idea "Mousy Kitchen Intelligence," the mechanical engineering student aims to combat food waste in the kitchen. "You scan receipts or product barcodes, and MousyKI does the rest. It warns you about expired products and directly generates suitable recipes from the ingredients you already have," explains the concept behind the smart app. THMVice President and jury member Prof. Dr. Peter Hohmann congratulated him on his second-place finish, which came with a prize of 1,500 euros.

Third place and a prize of 1000 euros went to master's student Manu Rao Vengeta Rao for his concept "BioCore MEC," a compact greywater bioreactor for urban buildings. The aim is to purify greywater from showers and sinks directly within the building, thus enabling local water reuse. The certificate was presented by jury member Peer Fanslau from JOST World.

The trio from "Greenliner"—Marina Becker, Natalie Knirsch, and Celine Jung—were delighted to receive the special sustainability prize and €1,500 in prize money. Their idea: to make climate change tangible. In four solar-powered containers, they aim to make climate change perceptible: icy winds, extreme heat, the silence of species extinction, and an AI simulation of one's own future in the trash. Jury member Yasar Sköries, managing director of biokaiser, presented them with the special prize.

The audience award, in the form of a €100 voucher for products from IDEECO alumni FESCHD, was presented by Friedberg's mayor, Kjetil Dahlhaus, to sustainability management students Linda Elisabeth Rothensee and Luis Böttcher for their "Carbon Lock-In System" idea. This is a digital circular economy platform for small and medium-sized enterprises, through which every household appliance will be linked to a digital product record.

Also included: “Draphics”, individual graphics on demand, “BIPM”, a schedule and construction Further tool, “SnakeSecure”, a modular, reusable marten protection system and “Orus 2.0”, a multimodal AI system for inpatient long-term care.

This year, Ideeco was also supported by numerous sponsors, including Volksbank Mittelhessen, JOST-Werke Deutschland, MK Versuchsanlagen, Sparkasse Oberhessen, the city of Friedberg, the OVAG Group, betabox Giessen of LBI Holding, StartHub Hessen of Hessen Trade and Invest and the foundershub Mittelhessen of Regionalmanagement Mittelhessen.

Since 2020, over 80 teams have demonstrated the innovative strength of the THMcommunity at five Ideecos events. Numerous projects have emerged from the startup competition, including Fisego, KardioIQ, FESCHD, Clever Sole, and BERT. For years, the competition has provided a platform for innovative ideas with great potential.