Berkeley Summer School

St. Pölten, July 8, 2024 - As part of the spin-off initiative of the Province of Lower Austria and under the leadership of the technology financing company tecnet equity and the accent Incubator, 14 teams from Lower Austrian universities of applied sciences competed this year for participation in a ten-day stay in Silicon Valley and a visit to the renowned Berkeley Entrepreneurship Summer School in August. At the Demo Day at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, the Lower Austrian UAS teams presented their projects to a high-ranking jury, with the “In-Kind” team from the IMC-Krems UAS emerging as the winner. The winners Chieh Pan, Natalia Aldana and Nina Mrzelj can now look forward to a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the heart of US start-up culture and further develop their innovative ideas.

Johanna Mikl-Leitner emphasizes the importance of this initiative: “Participation in the Berkeley Entrepreneurship Summer School offers our students valuable insights into the dynamic world of start-ups in Silicon Valley and promotes the international exchange of knowledge. With projects such as 'In-Kind', our young talents impressively demonstrate how innovative solutions can contribute to overcoming social challenges.”

“In-Kind” is an innovative platform that documents the supply and demand of donations in kind in real time, thereby optimizing the exchange between private helpers and social institutions. The application uses modern technologies to improve the process of collecting, sorting and distributing donations in kind. Forecast models are also to be integrated in the future. The aim is to make administration as easy as possible for the helpers so that they can focus on looking after people again.

The winning team is looking forward to the experience ahead. “This participation is a unique opportunity for us to expand our knowledge, gain new perspectives and make valuable contacts. The field of digitalization in social services and fundraising is an untapped area with enormous potential,” explain Chieh Pan, Natalia Aldana and Nina Mrzelj. “We are passionate about developing and implementing innovative ideas and are particularly proud that we can make a social contribution and achieve a sustainable impact with 'In-Kind'.”

Doris Agneter, Managing Director of tecnet equity, underlines the objective of the program: “We want to consciously promote the international exchange of knowledge, especially in the technology sector, and enable young domestic founders to look beyond borders. This experience is a decisive factor in the development of our future technological entrepreneurs.”

Michael Moll, Managing Director of accent, also emphasizes the positive effects of participating in the Summer School: “The teams that have been to Silicon Valley in recent years have received an amazing development through this participation. The exchange with the best minds in the world in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation has given our young founders valuable impetus.”

Background information: Berkeley Summer School

As part of the SCIENCE TO BUSINESS spin-off initiative of the state of Lower Austria and under the leadership of the technology financing company tecnet equity and the accent Incubator, a cooperation with the renowned Berkeley Entrepreneurship Summer School has been in place since 2017. Teams from universities of applied sciences in Lower Austria compete to take part in the renowned Berkeley Entrepreneurship Summer School in Silicon Valley. By participating in the Berkeley Summer School, Lower Austrian students can experience the US start-up culture and the special spirit in Silicon Valley (including visits to companies such as Google and Meta). The experience of participants from previous years has shown that the Summer School has significantly increased their motivation to start a business and that the Lower Austrian neo-entrepreneurs are bringing the entrepreneurial spirit from Silicon Valley to Lower Austria.

14 teams from the Lower Austrian universities of applied sciences took part in the elimination round at the Demo Day at St. Pölten UAS.

Background info: In-Kind

In-Kind is an application that maps the supply and demand of donations in kind in real time. With In-Kind, Chieh Pan, Natalia Aldana and Nina Mrzelj are developing a platform that enables the exchange of information on donations in kind between people and social institutions as well as between social institutions themselves. The process of collecting information is accelerated and improved through the use of modern technologies. The more detailed information that In-Kind provides about donations in kind enables better sorting, distribution and warehouse management. The application thus initiates and supports the transformation process of digitalization in the social sector and is in line with the idea of the circular economy, as donations in kind are often already used. An additional added value is the inclusion of predictive models that support current and future planning, distribution and storage activities in social institutions.