Ecco i risultati del Falling Walls Lab di quest’anno.
Press Release
Falling Walls Young Innovators 2014: Social media for the deaf-blind, fighting type 1 diabetes with blue light and making money through water recycling
Berlin, 9 November 2014. Yesterday 100 young scientists, young entrepreneurs and innovators from 34 countries presented their research projects, ideas and initiatives concerning social challenges and the big issues of the future at the Falling Walls Lab.
The Jury’s winner and the audience’s favourite from the Falling Walls Lab Final 2014 is Tom Bieling from the Design Research Lab in Berlin. He has developed communication technology for deaf-blind people, through which they can interact with anyone at any time.
The second prize went to the Egyptian Nermeen Youssef from the University of Alberta in Canada, whose goal is to induce fat cells to secrete insulin using blue light so that patients with type 1 diabetes will no longer need to inject insulin in the future.
In third place was Dyllon Garth Randall from South Africa, who presented a profit-making opportunity for wastewater treatment. Using his technology, salts can be filtered out of the water and subsequently sold on, meaning that the investment pays for itself.
The three winners of the Falling Walls Lab will present their breakthroughs today at the Falling Walls Conference in front of around 600 guests as the “Falling Walls Young Innovators of the Year 2014”. The winners were selected by a high-calibre international jury from academia and industry under the direction of Professor Carl-Henrik Heldin, Chairman of the Nobel Foundation, and Dr. Martin Sonnenschein, Managing Director Central Europe at A.T. Kearney.
“Tom presented an innovative technology which will have a major and immediate impact on the target population. His idea will transform the lives of deaf-blinds worldwide. It was not an easy decision for the jury, but in the end it was a clear one. We were all convinced that Tom’s idea will succeed,” said Professor Carl-Henrik Heldin, Chairman of the Falling Walls Lab 2014 jury.
Every year, hundreds of new initiatives and interesting research projects are presented at this interdisciplinary young talents event. These are drawn from a wide range of subject areas including medicine, the humanities, the social sciences, engineering, economics and the natural sciences. “The fall of the Berlin Wall was an important stimulus for research, science and business across borders,” explains Dr. Martin Sonnenschein, Partner and Managing Director Central Europe at A.T. Kearney in Berlin. “This event was also our inspiration when we launched the Falling Walls Lab in 2011. Without this international competition, society would be 400 ideas and innovations poorer today.” Eighteen international heats took place in fifteen countries before the final in Berlin this year. These were organised by academic partner institutions such as the University of Edinburgh (UK), the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (India) and ETH Zurich (Switzerland). “As a global partner of the Falling Walls Lab we are excited about the innovative projects presented by top young talent around the world. In them we see great potential for the further development of our society, particularly in industry,” said Dr. Claus Jessen, Member of the Management Board Product Supply at Festo.
The aim of the Falling Walls Lab is to advance scientific and entrepreneurial visions and initiate and promote exchange between young researchers and young professionals across disciplines. The Falling Walls Lab is organised by the Falling Walls Foundation with the support of the international management consultants A.T. Kearney (Founding Partner) and Festo (Global Partner).
Press photos from the Lab are available at www.falling-walls.com/lab/gallery.
The winners of the Falling Walls Lab 2014 at a glance
1st place (€1000): Tom Bieling, “Breaking the Wall of Deaf-Blind Isolation”
Design Research Lab, Berlin2nd place (€750): Nermeen Youssef, “Breaking the Wall of Type 1 Diabetes”
University of Alberta3rd place (€500): Dyllon Garth Randall, “Breaking the Wall of Wastewater using Eutectic Freeze Crystallisation”
Aurecon, South Africa
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