Over the past five years, students worked together on the development of 25 different business cases. A selection out of the list of the business cases, including some posters, can be found below. Several of the companies that submitted a business case during the summer school have now grown into fully established SMEs within the Antwerp ecosystem.
Earfish / Creative economy, Information Technology / Edition 2019
About Earfish
Earfish is an initiative from a number of UAntwerp researchers, that have developed patented technology for use in the entertainment sector, that can help real 3D sound to replace the current 5.1, 7.1, 11.1 surround sound systems. They hope to bring this technology to market in a spin-off in the next couple of years.
About the business case
During the summer school, students explored how binaural 3D sound can replace current surround systems by providing a spatial experience that stimulates sound coming from specific locations through headphones, hereby taking into account the the personal 3D audio profile of users. The group condurcted different types of market research, sharpened the product defintion and provided a first financial plan to the idea owners.
Twikit // 3D printing - software development - product development / Edition 2018
Twikit is a Belgian software as a service (SaaS) company, based in Antwerp. Twikit creates 3D customization technology, linked to digital manufacturing technologies like 3D printing and lasercutting. Twikit enables big brands, like Swarovski, Philips and Walmart to offer personalized products to their consumers at scale. Twikit is a fast growing company and continuously exploring new opportunities and industries for 3D customization.
About the business case
As a pioneer in customization software, Twikit is constantly exploring new customization trends for opportunities. However, a deeper dive into these segments is essential. Deeper insights in topics like the market fit, possibilities and restrictions, potential product applications, competitors, pricings,… enable Twikit to grow further into these segments. During the 2018 summer school, one group of students worked on developing a solution and application for a new technology (2.5D printing), while another group explored the role Twikit could play in the market of customizable prosthetics.
Textgain // Software development, language technology, big data / Edition 2016
About Textgain
Textgain is a small start-up, established in 2015 as a spin-off company of the University of Antwerp. Textgain develops self-learning machines that can perform large-scale text analytics and text mining for a wide range of Big Data applications.
About the business case
During the summer school, the group of students studied the following questions in order to obtain a bird's eye view of the current market potential of the technology:
- What companies would benefit the most from the tools?
- What processing chains are out there in which the technology can add the most value?
- And how to find a place in a market that is already flooded with innovative technology?
More info: www.textgain.com
Beeple // Software Development and HR / Edition 2016
About Beeple
Beeple is an online staff management tool. They make complex staff management an easy and delightful experience. It is possible to manage the full circle of your crew: from the vacancy until the payment. Beeple is a front office tool, made for the end users, such as the employee and the planners. Beeple won the trophee "Starter van het Jaar 2016".
About the business case
At the time of the summer school, Beeple was developing an open tempting platform, based on the same technology as their existing closed platform. The students of this group worked on the question on how to make the application innovative, unique and attractive to students. In order to do so, they focused on the required features of the app, the positioning of the brand and the USPs. They deliberately chose to focus on one specific target group (students) to come to useful conclusions and recommendations in a short time span of only two weeks.
More info: www.beeple.eu
BrainComm // Health care, assistive technology / Edition 2015
About BrainComm
BrainComm is a company that provides a new means of communication for people who no longer have (full) motor control. The primary target group is ALS patients, though people suffering from similar conditions will also benefit from the solution. BrainComm offers a platform for brain-computer interfacing (BCI). The platform consists of comfortable head gear with the best possible fit and intuitive software that translates brain activity in written and spoken speech.
About the business case
Students were asked to develop part of a business plan for the launch of brain-computer interfaces into the market, primary targeted at ALS patients. Students were mainly asked to conduct market research and define revenue streams. In coordination with the idea owners, they then formulated 4 main obtjectives.
- Develop a new brand persona for BrainComm
- Achieving the appropriate estimated amount of funds
- Enlarging the market & choosing a segment to develop an entry strategy for
- Creating an awareness marketing campaign
8 wespen // Toys, Product Development, Commerce / Edition 2016
About 8 Wespen
8 wespen, an anagram of “wetenschap” (=science in dutch), is a company that aims at making toddlers and kindergartners excited about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). They strongly believe that most STEM programs start too late and are too facts based. By making science fun and by slowly introducing the concepts of the scientific method and how to set up a scientific experiment, we believe this will help children learn to be critical thinkers.
About the business case
At the time of the summer school, they were planning to introduce a BuzzBox to the market, a monthly subscription box that offers each month fun experiments in four areas: biology, chemistry, physics and technology. During the summer school, it was the participants' goal to find out how to create a sustainable customer base, to determine the viability of a non-profit strategy and to make suggestions on how to improve the product and strategy.
Iconic Boat (Born in Antwerp) // Creatieve and Innovative Economy / Edition 2016
About Iconic Boat
The city of Antwerp launched a new project for the creative sector called Born in Antwerp – Harbour of Creativity. Five leading names from the sector have been named as curators. One of them is Axel Enthoven, one of the Antwerp leading designers. He has the ambition to build a new iconic boat for Antwerp.
About the business case
The aim of the students was to first explore a business model for the construction of the boat and then to set up a revenue model for the operation of this boat. Important was the implementation of new technologies and the ever-changing experience value of today’s consumers.
HERMESensemble // Music & Arts / Edition 2015
About HERMESensemble
Over the past ten years the Antwerp based HERMESensemble has been exploring and crossing the limits of contemporary music. In performing contemporary repertoire and new music, the ensemble often works with video and multimedia, and prefers researching adventurous encounters with popular music, jazz and early music. HERMESensemble is led by artistic director Koen Kessels and managing director Kevin Voets. It consists of a core group of seven musicians, all highly specialised in contemporary musical performance practice. The ensemble is flexible however: depending on the project, more or less musicians and artists are involved to realise the productions. Recently HERMESensemble has moved into a new fully equipped studio at Het Kanaal (Wijnegem), offering possibilities for research, studio work and small-scale public performances.
About the business case
In 2015 HERMESensemble acquired an own studio, fully equipped with technical facilities (audio & video), piano, archival space, accommodation (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom). The studio is situated in one of the most innovative construction projects in the Antwerp area: Het Kanaal, a project by Axel Vervoordt, turning an old industrial site into a ‘city in the country’, offering residential facilities, commercial space (shops)and cultural infrastructure (museum, concert and festival activities). The site has been presented to the general public in June 2014 during a first edition of the ‘Inspiratum Festival Kanaal’.
During the summer school, an enthusiastic group of students developed a business strategy for this new biennial festival, scheduled in September 2016. They made a thourough context analysis, elaborated a marketing plan and drafted a first version of a communication plan.
More information: www.hermesensemble.be
Testimonials Idea Owners
Martijn Joris, co-founder Twikit
Within Twikit we are continuously looking for new products which can be 3D printed and customized. The summer school gave us access to a motivated group of students with mixed cultures and backgrounds. They performed an in-depth analysis on product ideas in a very short period. The quality was really high and helped us in making the right decisions. We even recruited one of the students as a trainee to develop a go-to-market strategy for Germany.
Karel Rabaut, Beeple
To have young creative minds think about our product gave us some new useful insights. As we are always searching for opportunities to develop our company, we were glad to hear from an international group of students how they would improve our product and application. A great collaboration and wonderful experience for both students and professionals.
Guy De Pauw, Textgain
Supervising a group work during the summer school was a very enriching experience for our company. An international team of young and enthusiastic out-of-the-box thinkers flooded us with fresh ideas, which made the summer school a genuine learning experience for both the team members and ourselves. Definitely recommended!
Peter De Rycke, Migino
It was very enriching for Migino to participate in this summer school. Thanks to the different backgrounds and the enthusiasm of the participants, we gained some useful inisghts to further develop our business. The environment in which the summer school takes place is very stimulating, both for students as for idea owners, thanks to the presence of so many experts.