Munich, June 18, 2024. “Cargo bikes drive through traffic like cars. But have you ever wondered whether your child is properly protected?” asked Ann-Sophie (17), a member of the team at Erzbischöfliche Liebfrauenschule in Cologne, introducing their business idea at the pitch. “Our team wants to ensure safety on every trip and provide for safe and sustainable transportation.” Together with Anna (16), Antonia (16), Felix (17), Jonas (16), and Vincent (16), she developed an airbag system for cargo bikes. This idea, the accompanying business plan, and its slogan “Travel safe and smart, use Cycle Guard” won the student team the German Finals of business@school, the educational initiative of the international management consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

An initiative with a big impact at school
Acquiring business knowledge, sparking entrepreneurial spirit, and developing their own business idea—that’s what more than 1,000 students at around 70 schools have been focusing on over the past ten months. This school year, the participants in business@school have immersed themselves in the world of business and developed impressive business ideas and business plans, supported by their teachers and roughly 400 volunteer coaches from over 20 well-known companies and BCG. 

Eleven teams qualified for the finals in eleven regional competitions around Germany. Two additional teams won spots in the German Finals with special prizes: The team from Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium Bensberg in Bergisch Gladbach won the Social Entrepreneur Prize sponsored by SOS Kinderdorf e. V. with its idea “ClearPath Cancer,” while the team from Anton-Philipp-Reclam-Schule in Leipzig, which had already won the pitch event in Potsdam, won the Sustainability Prize sponsored by Boston Consulting Group with “NoTwo.” The twelve teams that qualified for the German Finals presented their business ideas at the Munich office of Boston Consulting Group, after which they answered the judges’ critical questions. The teams from Bergisch Gladbach, Cologne, and Leipzig prevailed in three preliminary rounds to advance to the final round, where they presented their pitches to a large audience and the panel of high-profile judges. Chairman of the panel of judges Michael Brigl, Managing Director & Senior Partner and Head of BCG Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and CEE, has high hopes for the student teams: “You are the next generation of founders and proof of the potential we have in Germany.”

The panel of judges included:

• Michael Brigl, Head of BCG Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and CEE, Managing Director & Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group
• Dr. Andreas Dinger, Managing Director & Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group
• Stefan Drüssler, Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer, UnternehmerTUM GmbH
• Jochen Engert, Founder, Flix SE
• Corinna Schittenhelm, Supervisory Board Member
• Jens Uhlendorf, Partner, Hogan Lovells International LLP

Second place goes to Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium Bensberg with “ClearPath Cancer”
Just behind the winning team, Fynn (16), Johannes (18), Nick (17), Revin (16), and Tim (17) from Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium Bensberg in Bergisch Gladbach took second place. The five students developed a web application for doctors to navigate through medical guidelines for cancer therapies, with the aim of reducing the workload and increasing efficiency in hospitals and doctors’ offices.

“NoTwo” takes third place for Anton-Philipp-Reclam-Schule
Brian (16), Finn (18), Liv (17), Lovis (17), Rosalie (17), and Vid (17) from Anton-Philip-Reclam-Schule in Leipzig presented “NoTwo,” their food box with a nitrogen freshness system. The team developed its business idea to combat food waste, a major contributor to climate change. The six students already have the right slogan: “Freshness locked in. Waste locked out.”

MakerSpace special prize for “bikesync” from Gymnasium Puchheim
Stefan Drüssler, Managing Director and COO of UnternehmerTUM GmbH and member of the panel of judges, presented Amelie (16), Konstantin (18), Patrick (18), and Philipp (18) from Gymnasium Puchheim with the MakerSpace special prize for their idea “bikesync,” a puncture-proof, water-repellent bag that can be attached to bicycle frames. Their prize was a membership in Europe’s largest prototype workshop. “The ‘bikesync’ team is developing an incredibly exciting product. I am deeply impressed by the team members’ passion. They will be an enrichment for the UnternehmerTUM MakerSpace community. I’m looking forward to seeing a real prototype,” said Drüssler.