Big award goes to students from our faculty

Dear staff

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the SDU Startup Night, which was held at Videnbyen.

I would like to commend SDU Startup Station for a very well-organised and well-attended event. The purpose of the event is to announce the winners of the SDU Startup Prize and to hand out a number of other prizes.

In addition, there will be various presentations, including graduated students from SDU talking about their experiences of starting their own companies. Alf Rehn from the Faculty of Engineering gave a very entertaining keynote on creativity and trusting students with ideas.

However, I was particularly pleased that students from the Faculty of Science were well represented on the podium. Our faculty is almost always accused of being underrepresented when it comes to students in SDU Startup Station.

I often argue that the faculty focuses on basic research, which can be far from the market. We have few role models among employees and relatively limited teaching in innovation and entrepreneurship.

However, we do have iGEM, which has had a big impact on the students who won the most prizes this year. A group of five female students, who call themselves VitroZymes, have participated in an iGEM programme and worked with PFAS. They are developing enzymes that can degrade PFAS in wastewater treatment plants, thus ensuring clean drinking water in the future at a reasonable price for the country's waterworks.

This is a project that comes straight out of the laboratory and is expected to be commercialised within a few years. The group has already won several prizes and awards outside the university, and I hope they will be role models for our other and future students.

Startups don't have to start in the lab, as one biology student has used her own interest in horse riding to develop a new product. Combined with her extensive knowledge of equine physiology, she has developed a new cuff for horses' calves.

Everyone in the audience was very impressed by the extensive analysis of the potential of this invention. Alf Rehn included this project in his presentation, emphasising the importance of daring to go with the ideas that no one else has thought of. In this case, the target audience is professional riders, of which there are quite a few globally – and that's a good thing!

The hallmarks of most projects this year were sustainability, circular use of materials and reduced CO₂ emissions. However, there were also 'caring' projects that address personal challenges, such as dyslexia. These projects are often based on personal experiences.

The personal engagement and the latest technology in artificial intelligence will surely lead to many new and quirky ideas that could potentially become successful Science startups.

I hope that everyone in contact with students will support them in daring to believe in their own ideas and support them on their way to e.g. SDU Startup Station.

Marianne Holmer, dean