Innovation to fight glaucoma wins Jacobs Startup Competition 2021
March 31, 2021
Glaucoma is a main cause of blindness worldwide. More than 76 million people from all social classes suffer from the eye disease, which is caused by the buildup of fluid pressure. To combat glaucoma, the South African startup "LIQID Medical" developed a new class of eye implants – and won the international Jacobs Startup Competition 2021 with this innovation. The Jacobs Startup Competition is a student-organized event at the English-speaking university. The 1st place was awarded 3,000 euros.
A total of 140 teams applied for the Jacobs Startup Competition 2021. Ten qualified for the finals on March 12 and 13, which were held completely online for the first time this year. More than 200 guests took the opportunity to follow the pitches, ask questions, network with companies and founders, and attend the award ceremony.
The second place and a prize money of 1,000 euros was awarded to the interactive chess app "Double Bishop", which was developed by a startup from Bangkok. Using artificial intelligence, the app connects chess players of different skill levels. “SustainiUM" rejoiced in its third place and 500 euros. The startup from the US developed a technology that uses heat from burnt nuclear fuel to dry wastewater sludge, which can then be used as fertilizer or biofuel.
The event was moderated live by the main organizers of this year's event – Bachelor students Geena Toepfer and Elias Bosch – from a temporary TV studio on the campus of Jacobs University, which was also run by students