The Innovation Center of the Ústí nad Labem Region (ICUK) once again connected talented students of the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (UJEP), who worked intensively on innovative solutions in the field of energy throughout the week. The winning team ENKO presented an application for establishing energy communities and also received a "wild card" to the Startup Go business incubator.
ICUK Bootcamp is an intensive educational program that connects students from different fields and supports their creativity, teamwork and entrepreneurship. Over five days, participants work on solving a specific challenge, receive feedback from mentors and develop their ideas towards real-world application. ICUK organized from February 24 to 28, 2025 second Bootcamp in a row, this time with the theme "Save the Energy"Eight UJEP students divided into three teams and worked together on innovative solutions in the field of energy. Not one, but two of the best ideas received direct entry into the Startup Go business incubator, where they will further develop their projects.
The first Bootcamp took place in November 2024 and focused on how to include entrepreneurship in teaching for second-grade elementary school students. This time the challenge was from a different direction, we focused on energy saving and the possibilities of its more efficient use.
He became the winner ENKO team, which developed an application for creating energy communities. Their solution will facilitate the establishment of these communities and reduce the bureaucratic burden associated with their administration. Thanks to their vision, the team received a wild card into the Startup Go incubator. The team consisted of Jitka Kulhavá from Faculty of Science, Jan Povolny from Faculties of Social and Economic Studies and Ondrej Vandrovec from Philosophical faculties.
Other team, Daniel Bricklayer from Faculties of Social and Economic Studies and Dominik Hliza from Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, decided to address direct cost savings using waste heatUsing a heat exchanger, their system can effectively recycle heat from wastewater, which would allow hotels, hospitals and other large operations to reduce the cost of heating clean water.
Third team, Alpha Agency, addressed social benefits and came up with the idea for a non-profit organization focused on raising awareness about renewable energy sources. Lukas Hercog from Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Josefina Trejbalova and Linda Hajkova, both of Faculties of Social and Economic Studies focused their non-profit organization on organizing discussions for municipalities and the general public that would raise awareness of the benefits of renewable resources.
Three teams, three different perspectives on the energy sector, three different solutions. This is also proof that innovation in the energy sector can take many forms – from technological solutions to community projects to awareness and education.
“It was inspiring to watch how mixed teams of students from different faculties and fields can collaborate on one topic and at the same time come up with such diverse solutions. This is clear evidence of how important it is to give students the space not only to think about innovations, but also to independently find problems and create their own proposals. However, it is crucial that their ideas do not just remain on paper - our goal is to help them put them into practice,” Matouš Kostomlatský, coordinator of educational activities and main organizer of ICUK Bootcamps, evaluated the event.
The next, third ICUK Bootcamp is being prepared by ICUK in the winter semester of 2025. It plans to increase the capacity of this educational event to up to 30 participants and is already thinking about an attractive and motivating prize for the winning team.
