Reusable Plastic Student Project takes 1st Prize at 17th Innovation Camp

EcoPlast team has won first prize at the 17th edition of the Jonk Entrepreneuren's Innovation Camp; the winning project aims to reuse and transform plastic waste into thermal insulation.

Organised in partnership with ING Luxembourg, this year's Innovation Camp took place yesterday, 27 February 2019. 55 students from 12 high schools participated and tried to find ideas and innovative solutions to the following Business Challenge: In a world where global warming is having a negative impact on our environment, you decide to create a Start-up to act now.

The projects had to target one of four themes from: clean and affordable energy; sustainable cities and communities; consumption and responsible production; climate action. The camp brought together teams of 4-6 students aged 16-19, who had to decide on a proble to solve, their proposed solution, the impact of their start-up and what activity they will launch. The experience offers young people the opportunity to learn to work as a team, respect deadlines, compete with other groups, present their ideas and defend them in front of a jury.

Supervised by ING Luxembourg employees Erik Jacquemart (Head of Innovation at the Innovation Department), Régis Salaris (PACE Coach at the Innovation Department), Sandrine Munezero (Delivery Lead at the TECH department) and Marie-Laurence Rubiolo (Delivery Lead at the TECH department), the ten teams went on to present their projects to the public and the jury- this was composed of Frédéric Kieffer (Head of Retail Banking at ING Luxembourg), Florence Van Hoye (Collaborator at the Authority for the Protection of Nature; Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development), Stephan Kinsch (OUNI), Robert Dennewald (President, Contern S.A.) and Roland Simon (Manager of Voyages Simon).

Ultimately, EcoPlast won first prize for their project to reuse plastic waste and transform it into thermal insulation covered with a layer of natural foam that accentuates the insulating property. Ecoplast targets homes and abandoned buildings. The winning team was composed of Philippe Kaempff (Ecole d’Hôtellerie et de Tourisme de Luxembourg), Max Schaus (Lycée classique Diekirch), Mark Schommarz (Lycée des Arts & Métiers), Lea Winzen (Lycée de garçons Luxembourg), Alexandre Zenatello (Lycée Robert Schumann) and Gabriel Thym (Lycée Vauban).

Second prize was awarded to the Polless team, composed of Rodrigo Teles, Fallon Rooney, Zilane Yurtman, Andreas Styliaras rz, William Ferreira and Nicolas Reyland. Together, they created an app to encourage a company's staff to use public transit. The application would work on the basis of a points system that rewards users who use them. The points can then be exchanged for vouchers for canteen meals, drinks or other goods.

Finally, third prize was awarded to the Exignis team, composed of Tatiana Fontes, Lena Weber, Damir Babacic, Claudia Delabrousse and Sébastien De Pourq Kaempff. The project envisaged the production and sale of capsules that help prevent forest fires. The product is buried underground and thanks to heat sensors, fire stations are warned for quick intervention.