For the third time, Upper Austria and South Bohemia have announced a "Cross Border Contest" for start-ups and innovative projects with a total prize money of 30,000 euros. The aim of the contest is to bring innovative, forward-looking solutions to the fore and to establish new networks between Upper Austria and South Bohemia.
Eight start-ups and projects - four each from Upper Austria and South Bohemia - qualified for the final pitch in Linz. A jury consisting of an equal number of Upper Austrian and South Bohemian experts made the decision on the awarding of the prizes.
In the presence of Governor Thomas Stelzer and District Governor Martin Kuba, the prizes, each worth 10,000 euros, were awarded:
Category idea: "MindEcho". The Upper Austrian project is developing an AI-supported technology that enables people with speech impairments to communicate easily by recognizing individual sounds and translating them into understandable languages.
Start Up category: "Boxmaster" from South Bohemia, which offers modular, refrigerated food centers for the delivery and collection of food and agricultural products. Using a cross-docking approach, Boxmaster acts as local distribution points that improve access to food in smaller communities, shorten supply chains and support local producers.
Cross Border category: "Diamens" from Upper Austria, which offers the first revolutionary self-test for home use to diagnose endometriosis. The test relieves women of invasive operations, saves pain and simplifies the diagnostic process.
"Upper Austria and South Bohemia have established good cooperation on many levels in recent decades. With the Cross Border Contest, we are sending a signal in the direction of innovation and future orientation, which should encourage people to pursue new entrepreneurial paths with a focus on research and technology," explains Governor Thomas Stelzer.
District Governor MUDr. Martin Kuba was convinced that new, innovative ideas and business start-ups are the seeds of future economic success, promising jobs and the overall positive development of South Bohemia and Upper Austria.
Photo: Upper Austria/Peter Mayr
