DROPIT wins Mindspace University and 10,000€!

Since March 2022, 5 teams have worked hard on the creation and development of their innovative ideas around Smart Cities. Smart Cities was the theme of this cycle of Mindspace University.

The Stages:

Mindspace University consists of 3 parts.

1. Educational Part: During this period, all participants take part in an intensive series of webinars and workshops on the thematic area. They are introduced to an entrepreneurial mindset, become more familiar with common terms & methodologies of entrepreneurial programs, understand the specific sector & its fundamental economic & technological concepts and get an insight on technologies & strategies.

2. Mentoring Period: Only the best teams enter the mentoring sessions in order to gain knowledge and develop their own innovative idea. With the mentors' help, it's time to turn it into reality. They develop the real-world practice and preparation of their pitching.

3. Finals: During the last stage of Mindspace University, the teams pitch their ideas and business plans to a board of judges. Finally, this panel of judges decides the winner.

The mentors:

"Well begun is half done", that's why our mentors are an important part of Mindspace University. We would like to thank each and every one of them for taking the time to mentor our teams and we would like to mention them below:

• Spyros Denazis, Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UoP

• Cheryl Edison, CEO/Founder of Edison International (San Francisco, CA)

• Dr. Elena Patatouka, Senior Innovation Expert & Scientific Project Manager

• Jason Whittet, Digital Innovation Lead

• Dr. Vassilis Binas, Associate Researcher - IESL, FORTH, & Visiting Professor (Dpt. of Physics, University of Crete)

• Dr. Ahmed Farrag, Regional Government Industry Director, Microsoft Middle East

• Francesco Paolo Camarda, Vodafone Smart Tech International Expansion Director

• Evdoxia Kouraki, Innovation Project Manager at Johanneberg Science Park

• Dr. Hamid Menouar, Expert in Smart Cities Technologies and Applications

• Dr. Maria Gianniou, Empowerment & Leadership Coach and Corporate Trainer at Optimal HR Group | Lead from Within | Women Act

• Dr. Georgios Triantafyllidis, Associate Professor, Dpt. of Architecture, Design and Media Technology, Aalborg University (Denmark)

• Ross McKenzie, Executive Director, RMA Advisory - Smart Cities Expert

• Chelsea Collier, Founder of Digi.city

• Nasos Koskinas, Founder of POS4work Innovation Hub

• Aleksandar Mastilovic, IEEE Publications Board, IEEE Smart Cities Ambassador, WBAF Senator

The Ideas:

1st place – DROPIT (Natalia Zacharaki, Antonis Margaronis)

won 10,000€ by ThePeople'sTrust

At “dropit - IoT Water Management” (“dropit for short”) we use IoT for water management efficiency. By collecting the water consumption data, we can predict future consumption, detect potential damages using machine learning, and at the same time alert users on their consumption, using a gamified mobile application. On top of that, we offer bill handling and customer support services through our app. In that way we support the digital transformation of water services while actively saving water resources.

2nd place – SMART ALERT (Thodoris Asteriotis, Enri Skourti, Andreas Krassas)

won free attendance for one team member at an upcoming Mindspace Trip*

In case of an emergency in an isolated area, calling 112 or family members will not provide the person in need instant help because it will require some time for them to arrive there. On most occasions, there are people nearby and if notified they could help immediately. During an emergency, minutes are crucial. Being able to notify these people through an app is the solution we bring with just a touch of a button.

3rd place – WINTECH (Eleftheria Zisariou, Dora Kukec)

won 20% attendance discount for one team member at an upcoming Mindspace Trip*

WinTech is a new company powered by women that have built a service program connecting small farmers with the end consumer. Providing helpful solutions to both sides, Agroskroutz is a unique platform that allows local farmers direct communication with consumers eliminating high margins that are imposed by supermarket chains. Ultimately, our aim is to educate more small farmers on sustainable practices while delivering healthy food to end consumers, all in line with the EU's Farm to Fork Strategy.

4th place – BIOFLAMES (Giorgos Pismisis, Athina Poupa)

won 10% attendance discount for one team member at an upcoming Mindspace Trip*

Our innovation idea concerns the category of biofuels and more specifically the production

of dried pellets (bio-pellets) and bio-briquettes, from spent coffee grounds (SCG). The need for

sustainable and clean energy in smart cities is essential. The innovation of this plan is the creation of a new value-added product which is produced according to a sustainable model of circular economy, with a smaller environmental footprint than other conventional fuels.

5th place - RECYBLOOM (Aris Zafeiratis, Anastasis Kotsis, Alexis Dimitropoulos)

won 10% attendance discount for one team member at an upcoming Mindspace Trip*

Our enterprise will be based in the city of Athens Greece. It aims to provide an online application / platform with the goal of rising recycling awareness and revitalizing citizens' recycling interactivity as well as dealing with problems, such as the low recycling levels via the participation of the community. It is our aspiration to found a modern business focused on developing the right digital tools, and through the usage of new technologies and software development, to connect various factors in society for the purpose of recycling and boosting the circular economy. This will initially be done through a mobile application and computer platform that will facilitate the interconnection of various actors in society, providing a user-friendly environment, and the necessary incentives to further develop and optimize collaboration between them, for the purposes of the circular economy and recycling.

*To be used within a year

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Mindspace University will return this fall, so stay tuned for the new cycle.

You can watch the finals of Mindspace University below:

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