Students compete in innovation for health and well-being
About 150 students participated in the Impact Challenge competition at Jönköping University (JU) 25-27 September. The task was to develop and present the best business idea in the field of health and well-being. The winners were rewarded with a prize cheque of SEK 15,000 from the Growth Foundation (Tillväxtstiftelsen).
The winning team of the Impact Challenge consists of: Inés Beaudemoulin, JIBS, Naya Gharib, JIBS, Jenei Tamás, JIBS, Caroline van Rijckevorse, HHJ, Micaela Stella, JIBS and Vanshika Dhawan, JIBS.
In Impact Challenge, formerly known as the Sustainability Race, students work together to develop a business idea that aims to find solutions to societal challenges. This year's theme was health and well-being, with students divided into three different categories: youth mental health, the ageing population and preventive health. All teams had to present their ideas to a jury, which then selected two teams from each category to present their business idea in the final.
The competition began on Monday 25 September with a kick-off event, where the competition concept was presented and students were given a lecture on this year's theme. During the days leading up to the final on 27 September, the students had the opportunity to receive guidance from coaches from both JU and Science Park, participate in workshops, tips on presentation techniques and lectures to gather information and knowledge for their business idea.
”Simple, easy and applicable in society’”
The winning team had developed Mood Scape, a card game that physically and psychologically promotes good mental health, primarily aimed at young people in secondary school. The idea is to make it easier for young people to talk about emotions and well-being in a more fun and active way.
Micaela Stella is studying Sustainable Enterprise Development at Jönköping International Business School (JIBS) at JU and believes that she and the other members of the group found a gap that needed to be filled. She says that the group could not find a similar concept anywhere when they explored the card game idea.
"It works a bit like a workshop mixed with activities. You draw a card that gives you a scenario to discuss and put feelings and thoughts on, or a prompt such as to go out and run a lap in the forest", says Micaela.
Caroline van Rijckevorse is studying the Master's Programme in Assistive Technology (MAStech) at the School of Health and Welfare (HHJ) at JU and thinks the group dynamic worked well. She says they looked at the challenge from a different perspective and focused on creating a simple and physical solution.
"Our idea is not that difficult to create and easy to apply. I think that if we work actively with our idea, we can get it out as a finished product within a year", says Caroline.
A total of six teams advanced to the final and competed for the win on Wednesday afternoon.
The School of Health and Welfare participated - new for this year
In previous years, it has been students from JIBS and the School of Engineering (JTH) at JU who have participated in the Impact Challenge. But in connection with this year's theme, Science Park has also included students from the School of Health and Welfare, which was an appreciated addition to this year's competition.
The jury consisted of Emelie Ramsö, Sustainability Manager at Länsförsäkringar Jönköping, Frida Lygnegård, Senior Lecturer at the School of Health and Welfare, Leona Achtenhagen, Professor of Business Administration at Jönköping International Business School and Tomas Hagwall, Business Developer at Science Park Jönköping.
Frida Lygnegård is senior lecturer at School of Health and Welfare and was one of four jury members in the final. She had a positive view of the competition and thought it was both a fun and important theme for this year's edition of the Impact Challenge. She believes that the competition is a good start for students interested in innovation work in health and wellbeing.
"In the public sector, business development and entrepreneurship, there are always people who will work with business ideas and product development in health and welfare, and then a mix of different competences is needed", says Frida Lygnegård.
The Impact Challenge is organised by Jönköping University and Science Park Jönköping.
Motivations for the winners:
The winner dares to present an analog low-tech solution that addresses an important societal challenge among teenagers. The group presents a feasible idea for a clearly defined market segment. The idea is grounded in state of the art research and confirmed with basic initial market research. The idea was well presented and has the potential for widespread impact.
