PUSH YOUR IDEA 2026 Idea Competition

The Start-up campus team reviews submitted ideas for originality and seriousness. AI-powered tools may, of course, be used—for example, to refine wording or create graphic prototypes. However, participation should always be based on your own engagement with the subject matter, creativity, and motivation to generate ideas and think entrepreneurially.

Note: Actual implementation of the idea is deliberately not an evaluation criterion for the competition. What matters most is a high-quality analysis and elaboration of the underlying business model.

Student participants who present their business concept to the expert jury in a 2-minute pitch during the finals will receive 5 hours of course credit (a one-time award, regardless of the number of ideas the participant submits).

Yes, of course. Posters can also be submitted in English. If your idea qualifies for the finals, you can also give your pitch in English.

Of course, we welcome team concepts!

Business ideas can be submitted by individuals as well as by teams. The maximum number of team members is five.

Each individual or team may also submit multiple business ideas. This is also possible with different team compositions.

You should not disclose any technical details that could jeopardize a future application for intellectual property rights (e.g., a patent).

To participate in the competition, it is sufficient to describe the idea at the business concept level. The presentation should demonstrate the benefits of the idea and how a potential business model could be structured—without including confidential technical details.

If you have any uncertainties, the Start-up campus team will be happy to assist you with appropriate wording or anonymization.

To participate in the PUSH YOUR IDEA! idea competition, you must submit your idea using the poster template via email to ideenwettbewerb[at]hs-aalen.de.

It’s important that you or your team also fill out page 2 of the poster template:

• Page 1: “Idea Poster”
  Have you come up with a great idea?! Great—then let’s get started on your poster!
  
  Page 1 uses a series of questions to help you not only think through your idea in a structured way, but also present your business concept to others in a coherent manner. You can also upload a picture or sketch here*
  
  Note: True to the motto “Less is more,” one of the challenges is to keep your answers concise. Depending on the question, you have between 100 and 500 characters for your responses. You should also keep in mind that any image or sketch on the poster should be clearly legible—even in DIN A4 format, the viewer should be able to grasp the essentials.

• Page 2: “Information About You and Your Team”
  On page 2 of the template, simply provide us with a few details about yourself and your team. If you plan to submit the template as a team, please designate a team contact person. This person’s name should be entered in line 1.
  
  

Once you’ve filled out both pages of the template and agreed to the privacy policy and terms of participation, you’re all set to participate in the PUSH YOUR IDEA! Idea Contest!

All you need to do is click the “SUBMIT YOUR IDEA NOW!” button in the document.

We’re keeping our fingers crossed for you!

*With a current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, you can upload your sketch as a JPEG or PDF file directly into the corresponding field. If you’re unable to upload the file, you can also email us your sketch along with your poster: ideenwettbewerb[at]hs-aalen.de

1. Participants

All members of the Aalen University of Applied Sciences community who have a student ID number or employee ID number (i.e., including, but not limited to, bachelor’s or master’s students, staff members, and professors at Aalen University of Applied Sciences) are eligible to participate in the PUSH YOUR IDEA Ideas Competition. In addition, all alumni who graduated within the last 5 years may submit their idea to the competition. We reserve the right to request appropriate proof of eligibility.

2. Business Concept

By participating in the PUSH YOUR IDEA Idea Competition, participants declare that the submitted business idea is their intellectual property and free from third-party rights.

Business ideas may be commercially oriented business concepts intended to generate profit, as well as non-profit-oriented business concepts.

All assumptions contained in the business concept and presented in the template—such as market size, prices, costs, suppliers, and customers—should be as plausible and realistic as possible.

Participation in the PUSH YOUR IDEA idea competition is not contingent upon the implementation of the business concept—participants are therefore not required to have founded a company or to intend to actually do so.

The Start-up campus team reserves the right to exclude submitted business ideas from participation in the PUSH YOUR IDEA idea competition without providing a reason if it deems the business ideas unsuitable for the competition.

3. Individual Participants and Teams

Business ideas may be submitted by individuals or by teams. The maximum number of team members is five.

Each individual or team may submit multiple business ideas. This is also possible with different team compositions.

Student participants who present their business concept to the expert jury in a 2-minute pitch during the finals will receive 5 hours of course credit (a one-time award, regardless of the number of ideas the person has submitted).

4. Structure and Scope of the Business Concept

The business idea of the participant(s) in the PUSH YOUR IDEA competition must be presented using the provided template, which is available on the university website at hs-aalen.de/pushyouridea. Only this form may be used. Any intentional alteration or modification of the form will result in immediate disqualification from the PUSH YOUR IDEA idea competition.

When filling out the template, please note that there is a character limit for each field, which must be adhered to.

5. Publication

The ideas submitted to the PUSH YOUR IDEA competition will be presented as part of an exhibition in the University of Applied Sciences’ lobby. By submitting the poster template, participants agree to the publication of the completed template without compensation, both at the exhibition and—in the event of a nomination—at the closing event on December 15, 2026.

To the extent permitted by law, participants grant Aalen University of Applied Sciences and the sponsors of the PUSH YOUR IDEA Ideas Competition the right, without additional compensation, to use and publish photos, names, completed templates, images, and voices in all media to promote or publicize the PUSH YOUR IDEA ideas competition.

6. Award Ceremony

The cash and in-kind prizes will be awarded during the closing ceremony of the PUSH YOUR IDEA Idea Competition on December 15, 2026.

From all entries received by the submission deadline on October 30, 2026 (11:59 p.m.), the Start-up campus team or an evaluation jury will select the highest-quality (overall impression, originality/novelty of the idea, design/presentation/clarity, relevance of the problem and solution, differentiation from the competition). These will then be displayed in an exhibition open to all university members, and the best ideas in each category will be determined through their voting. The resulting top two ideas in each category will present their business concepts during the closing event in a 2-minute pitch, which will determine their final placement in the competition and thus the ranking of the winners.

The following rules apply to the short presentations before the jury at the closing event:

• The presenting team has 2 minutes to present its business concept.
• The presenting team may use the idea poster and/or a prototype. No other presentation aids are permitted.

The prizes awarded for the best startup ideas, as well as the randomly selected judges, will only be awarded if at least one member of the team or the randomly selected individual is present in person at the awards ceremony on December 15, 2026. If no representative of the winning team is present, the right to the prize shall lapse.

7. Data Protection

The participant consents to the processing of their personal data (last name; first name; university affiliation status; student ID/employee number; email address, if applicable; phone number) as well as the project data provided by the participant on the idea poster may be processed—i.e., collected, stored, and used—by Aalen University of Applied Sciences in connection with the organization and conduct of the PUSH YOUR IDEA idea competition. Personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. The participant is entitled at any time to request access to, deletion of, and, if necessary, correction of their stored personal data, as well as to revoke their consent to the processing of their personal data at any time with future effect. To do so, simply send a notice to:

Aalen University of Applied Sciences – Technology, Business, and Health

Start-up campus

Beethovenstraße 1

73430 Aalen

Email: gruendungscampus@hs-aalen.de

8. Miscellaneous

We reserve the right to terminate the PUSH YOUR IDEA idea competition early or extend its duration at any time without prior notice and without providing reasons. This applies in particular if proper execution cannot be guaranteed for technical or legal reasons. In such a case, participants shall have no claims whatsoever.

We reserve the right to exclude participants from the PUSH YOUR IDEA idea competition for good cause and to reclaim prizes, particularly if there is reasonable suspicion or evidence of false information, manipulation, violation of these Terms and Conditions, or other unauthorized actions.

Only entries submitted in accordance with these Terms and Conditions will be considered in the PUSH YOUR IDEA Ideas Competition.

There is no legal entitlement to participate in the PUSH YOUR IDEA Ideas Competition. Legal recourse is excluded.

Data Processing for the “PUSH YOUR IDEA” Idea Competition

The “PUSH YOUR IDEA” ideas competition is a university-wide competition within the StartupSÜD network. The goal is to highlight ideas, projects, and talent; to foster creativity and entrepreneurial spirit; and to provide students, alumni, staff, and faculty with a platform for exchanging and presenting their ideas. The processing of certain personal data is necessary for the competition to take place.

Data controller under data protection law:

Aalen University of Applied Sciences, Technology and Business, represented by the Rector

Beethovenstraße 1

73430 Aalen

info[at]hs-aalen.de

Phone: 07361 576 - 0.

Project Contact:

Start-up campus of Aalen University of Applied Sciences

Beethovenstraße 1

73430 Aalen

gruendungscampus[at]hs-aalen.de

Contact Information for the Data Protection Office:

Aalen University of Applied Sciences

The Data Protection Officer

Beethovenstraße 1

73430 Aalen

datenschutz[at]hs-aalen.de

Purposes of Data Processing:

In connection with the competition, personal data will be processed exclusively for the purpose of organizing and conducting the ideas competition. This includes, in particular:

• Management of submissions and communication with participants
  In addition to an idea profile containing a description of the idea, the following personal data of the submitter(s) (individual or team) will be collected. This includes, for example, the name, email address, and degree program/department of each participant (individuals or team members).
  
  This data will not be published but will be processed exclusively by the Aalen University of Applied Sciences Start-up campus team for organizational purposes and for communication with participants (e.g., inquiries regarding submissions, notifications about the competition, invitations to events).
  
  

• Organization of the Competition Phases
  Qualified entries will be selected for the closing event. In this case, the personal data of the entrants will also be used to ensure the organization and execution of the event (e.g., jury briefing, event planning).

Legal basis for data processing:

The legal basis for the collection, processing, and storage of the data is Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR.

Recipients of personal data:

Personal data is processed solely by the relevant internal departments—in particular, the staff of the Start-up campus—for the purposes stated above.

Transfer of Personal Data to a Third Country

No personal data is transferred to a third country or to an international organization.

Retention period:

The data will be processed until the purpose of the data processing no longer applies, after which it will be deleted immediately.

Data Subject Rights:

Under the GDPR, you have the following rights subject to the conditions specified in the law:

• You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time; however, this does not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out on the basis of your consent prior to its withdrawal.
• You have the right to obtain information about the personal data stored about you and/or to have any inaccurate data corrected.
• You also have the right to erasure, to restriction of processing, or to object to the processing.

• You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe that the processing of your personal data violates the law.

The supervisory authority within the meaning of Article 51(1) of the GDPR for Aalen University of Applied Sciences is, pursuant to Section 25(1) of the State Data Protection Act (LDSG), the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of Baden-Württemberg, poststelle[at]lfdi.bwl.de.