A team of DTU students took first prize at this year’s Venture Cup Start-up Competition. Four out of five category winners had DTU students on their teams.
The DTU team, SBT Aquatech, won this year’s final of the Venture Cup Start-up Competition, securing not only a cash prize of DKK 250,000—which the team can use to set up their business—but also products and services valued at DKK 400,000. SBT Aquatech consists of Gustav Skands, Christian Bertelsen and Joachim Thomsen, all DTU students.
The final was held on 21 June at the IDA Conference Centre where the finalist teams presented their product ideas and business plans. SBT Aquatech presented their bacteria sensor, which will facilitate the process of detecting bacteria in drinking water. The sensor can quickly detect any increase in bacteria level, thereby enabling water works to cleanse their water faster of coli bacteria, for example.
DTU students dominated competition
A total of 15 teams with students from Danish universities qualified for the final, competing in five different categories. A winner was chosen in each category before the overall winner was announced.
Initially winners of their own category, Cleantech & Environment, SBT Aquatech went on to become the overall winners of Venture Cup. In general, the DTU students taking part in the competition did extremely well. Four out of five category winners had DTU students on their teams.
- Cleantech & Environment: SBT Aquatech (DTU) – overall winner
- People & Society: Lendino (the University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen Business School)
- Life Science & MedTech: BalancAir (DTU and Aarhus University)
- Mobile & Web: Quick Inspect (DTU)
- Product & Technology: PLASMARC (DTU and Copenhagen Business School)
The winners of the five categories won DKK 50,000 and a Booster Pack with products and services for their business start-up.
Read more about the teams and their ideas on Venture Cup’s website
Venture Cup is an NGO started by McKinsey in 2000 and run with university funding with support from private sponsors (Grundfos, Novo, Awapatent and Ernst & Young) and public funding (including the Danish Foundation for Entrepreneurship –Young Enterprise and the Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority).
Over 200 investors, serial entrepreneurs and business professionals voluntarily devote their time to serving as jury members or advisers for the Venture Cup teams, and each year a handful of projects receive significant funding following participation in the competition.
The past 10 years have seen nearly 200 knowledge and growth companies set up business after taking part in Venture Cup.
Read more on
Venture Cup’s website