Change Award 2024 – 2nd Place IKG Heiligenhaus

Team “Sole” won. The four students from the Theodor-Fliedner-Gymnasium in Düsseldorf managed to impress the jury with their innovative idea of ​​developing a shoe with an interchangeable sole. Thanks to the interchangeable sole, the entire shoe does not have to be replaced if only individual parts break. In addition, the shoe can be adapted to suit the buyer’s needs both visually and functionally. For example, the shoe can be used for different activities that require different soles. The winning team is now travelling to the Japanese capital Tokyo with their teacher and supervising coaches. In addition, the school will receive a cash prize of 1,500 euros.

The team “E-Shroomz” from the Immanuel-Kant-Gymnasium in Heiligenhaus took second place. The jury was impressed by the development of solar-powered lockers in which mobile devices can be safely stored and charged at the same time. “We are all passionate about the topic of business and starting a business, which is why we decided to choose the Business English project course. It is part of what the school has to offer for our year group,” said Ninke van Klinken, explaining the project to our editorial team. “As part of this project course, we came up with our product idea, with which we applied for the Changes Award in December 2023 and reached the final round. Our product is a solar-powered charging station, which, as the name “E-Shroomz” suggests, is supposed to be shaped like a mushroom about three metres high. For “mushroom”: mushroom.

There was a big surprise at the start of the awards ceremony, as two teams were able to celebrate third place. The first third place went to the team “EmpowerBench” from the Gustav Heinemann Comprehensive School in Essen with their idea of ​​a smart, barrier-free city bench that should not only be a place for rest and relaxation, but also a solar-powered place for mobile phones and equipped with a Wi-Fi hotspot for everyone. The second third place went to “The Oasis Group” from the Theodor-Fliedner-Gymnasium in Düsseldorf. The team impressed the jury by transforming urban facades with a modular greening system that not only creates an aesthetically pleasing environment, but also improves air quality and promotes biodiversity. The students from the winning teams in second and third place can look forward to a technology voucher worth 1,000 euros or 500 euros. The schools also receive cash prizes of 1,000 euros for second place and 500 euros for third place.

The award ceremony opened with a digital greeting from the sponsor, NRW’s Minister of Economics, Mona Neubauer. In her speech, she praised not only the motivation and entrepreneurial spirit of the teams, but also the organizers’ commitment to supporting interested and talented students.