At the Innovation Center of the Ústí nad Labem Region, we believe that the potential of our region lies in people – not only in experienced entrepreneurs, but also in young people who come with fresh ideas and the courage to do things differently. That is why we are very happy to open our doors to high school and university students and help them develop their ideas.
Through workshops and project challenges such as hackathons and bootcamps, we give them the chance to experience entrepreneurship firsthand - and if their idea has real potential, they can develop it further in our business incubator. Startup Go.
One such inspiring story is the project ENKO, which was created during #2Bootcamp, an intensive week-long program focused on the topic Save the Energy. A group of students, who drew their composition on the spot, came up with an idea a few days later that responds to current legislative changes and has real market potential.
Another team has advanced to the incubator formed by students from the Faculty of Social Economics and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at UJEP. They focused on direct cost savings through waste heat utilizationTheir heat exchanger system allows the recycling of heat from wastewater and returns it to the process, significantly reducing the cost of heating clean water while contributing to more sustainable operations.
A team also made it into the business incubator 3D1 from a 3D printing hackathon focused on healthcare. Students Resslova secondary technical school, VOŠ medical school Ústí nad Labem and VOŠ and SOŠ Roudnice nad Labem they came with by designing a cheap and easy-to-produce version of a pressure bandage, which can be produced using 3D printing. Thanks to its simple design, low cost and ease of use, the bandage is suitable for situations where fast, accessible and effective help is needed.
To the 13th year of the Startup Go business incubator This is how three student teams advanced. Three different approaches. Three chances. But one of them is already one step further today – he knows who he is for, why he is being created and what he wants to change.
ENKO: Digital platform for the creation of energy communities according to Lex OZE II
The team consisting of Jan Povolný (FSE UJEP) and Ondřej Vandrovec (FF UJEP) set out to develop a solution that reflects the legislative innovation – amendment to the Energy Act Lex OZE II, which in the Czech Republic from 2024 allows the establishment of so-called energy communities.
The creation and operation of these communities brings with it a number of bureaucratic and technical obstacles – and the ENKO team decided to change that. Their goal is to create digital platform, which will simplify the entire process and make it accessible to smaller entities, such as small companies, municipalities, apartment buildings or groups of citizens.
The solution addresses the imbalance between electricity production and consumption in households with photovoltaics. These often produce surplus energy during the day – precisely when residents are at work and consumption is minimal. Through the platform, these current surpluses can be meaningfully offer to small companies or establishments, which have stable consumption throughout the day and use energy efficiently. The entire system allows for a maximum of ten consumers per energy producer – These are small, not just local energy communities., which can arise directly, without complicated paperwork.
In the Startup Go business incubator, thanks to mentors and thematic workshops, they are now developing their idea further, working on an MVP and negotiating a test run with already agreed companies. Their story is proof that when a good idea, a current social need and the right environment for development come together, even a student project can move on the path to a real business within a few months.
What's next? We'll see. June 13th at Go Grill Startup, where students will present their projects publicly for the first time, in front of an expert jury and perhaps even the first investors.
