For three days, the students worked in various teams on new ideas and creative solutions to the problem of acceptance of grid expansion for the climate transition in the city of Bonn.
They engaged in intensive exchanges with partners from the field and experts from research, education, administration, and business. These experts also made up the jury that evaluated all the project pitches at the end and selected the winning teams.
OneWay wins with digital platform
Among the numerous sustainable and creative projects, one stood out in particular: The idea of the OneWay project team, consisting of four students and developers Viktor Eckstein, David Melamed, Hillary “Natalie” Chum, and Philipp Spreitzer, convinced the jury. The team not only won the prize money of €1,750, but will also receive support from Stadtwerke Bonn in implementing their innovative and practical idea.
OneWay has developed a prototype platform that simplifies approval processes for all parties involved, resulting in considerable time savings. Citizens can stay informed about the current status of construction sites at any time via a map view showing the progress of Bonn's increasingly green city. In addition, the approval processes for all stakeholders involved are to be simplified. The platform also aims to increase acceptance of construction measures through transparent communication and to make the entire process more resource-efficient and streamlined by providing a central point of contact. Together with Bonn-Netz, the winning team will discuss the possibilities this innovative idea opens up in the coming weeks and months.
Further prizes for Team 4 and BauLotse
Team 4 and BauLotse were also recognized for their outstanding ideas in the competition: Team 4 secured second place and received prize money of €750. The third-placed team, BauLotse, was rewarded with a check for €500 for its creative solution. Navid Azadi, a former computer science student at the University of Bonn, gave an impressive presentation of the team's concept to the jury.
BauLotse's idea aims to make better use of the existing information infrastructure. The team proposes using screens at stops and in buses and trains as information displays. In areas where such screens are not yet available, they should be installed. “People shouldn't have to search for information about construction sites themselves,” is the team's motto.
