Every year, the MCI Creativity Award celebrates creativity, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility. In 2025, the competition reached a new milestone: with 59 submissions from 110 students, it marked a record level of participation. The most promising ideas, as selected by an expert jury, were honored at MCI and awarded cash prizes.
“These projects show clearly: our students don’t just think creatively—they think like entrepreneurs,” says Prof. Dr. Martin Pillei, Head of Research & Development at MCI. “They recognize opportunities, develop smart solutions, and take on social responsibility—setting powerful impulses for both business and society. The Creativity Award reflects what MCI stands for: progress through innovation, hands-on learning, and a deep commitment to entrepreneurial thinking and positive change.”
Innovative Ideas Across Disciplines
Open to students from all MCI study programs, the award highlights unconventional yet feasible ideas with strong innovation potential. This year’s submissions spanned a wide range of fields—from business and society to technology and life sciences.
A panel of experts evaluated the entries through a multi-stage process. Key criteria included level of innovation, market potential, uniqueness, social and environmental impact, and overall feasibility. Five outstanding projects were selected, and a special prize was awarded for the most implementation-ready concept.
Winners of the MCI Creativity Award 2025:
1st place: metora
An AI-powered camera system that identifies the material composition of electronic waste.
(Laurenz David Birnbaum, Michael Fuest | Master Mechatronics – Smart Technologies)
2nd place: FemStem
A novel approach to stem cell collection that advances women’s health research and opens new pathways in biomedical science.
(Lea Naomi Kleemann, Noemi Jolanda Hartig-Divinzenz, Johannes Elias Habermann, Fabian Lang | Bachelor Management, Communication & IT)
3rd place & “Concept for best implementation”: Serwas – Wärme, die sich auszahlt
A sustainable heating solution that repurposes waste heat from servers to warm buildings.
(Manuel Untergasser, Timo Berkmann, Lucas Bolte | Master International Business & Management)
4th place: Healink-LifeSense
A MedTech startup developing LifeSense, a smart, non-invasive system for continuous blood glucose monitoring.
(Helin Hussein, Matthias Hansen, Christian Kleber, Jannis Pohl | Bachelor Medical, Health & Sports Engineering)
5th place: Urban Matter
A circular economy solution helping the glass and window industry reuse materials and conserve resources.
(Stefan Rausch | Master Environmental, Process & Energy Engineering)
Partners & Support
The MCI Creativity Award 2025 was made possible through collaboration with key partners: Startup.Tirol, Standortagentur Tirol, the Federation of Austrian Industries Tyrol, aws – Austria Wirtschaftsservice, and the daily newspaper Die Presse, which also gifted each winner a subscription.
The winning teams of the MCI Creativity Awards 2025 ©MCI/Aaron Heimerl
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