Germany / Education

06 June 2023

The changes.AWARD is a business plan competition that prepares school students for the challenges of their future with their own project ideas on current topics. The task is to realize a project together as a team - from the initial idea to the final concept, researching facts, interviewing the target group and drawing up a financial plan - and to inspire with a rousing presentation at the end of the project.

School students in EF and Q1 from North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) can take part with a teacher who will supervise them. The teams, consisting of 3-5 members, will be supported by the organizers' coaches - digitally and in person. The winning team can look forward to an eventful trip to Japan's capital Tokyo. The students of the winning teams in 2nd and 3rd place can each look forward to a technology voucher worth EUR 1,000 and EUR 500 respectively.
The theme in 2023 was: Fit for 2030 - sustainable business ideas for people and the environment. We were looking for product ideas on at least one of the 17 thematic areas of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

A total of 28 teams from 12 schools in 6 cities across NRW competed for the coveted changes.AWARD 2023 prizes. 13 teams made it to the final on 6th June to convince the jury of their sustainable product idea and, above all, their business plan. The winning team in 2023 was the team "flow" from the Theodor-Fliedner-Gymnasium and Suitbertus-Gymnasium Düsseldorf. Their ideas are to develop an add-on for head-up displays in cars that is linked to the traffic data centers of cities and can thus intelligently direct traffic flow and reduce particulate matter.