Start-up UrbO from Munich University of Applied Sciences wins "KPIT Sparkle Platinum Award"

Press Release (ePRNews.com) - MUNICH, Germany - Mar 08, 2017 - KPIT, a global technology company specializing in product engineering and IT consulting, announced the winners of KPIT Sparkle Munich 2017, a national design and development innovation contest also being annually held in India since 2014.

“With our comfortable and flexible solution, you are highly mobile”. This was the answer that Felix Ballendat, Jakob Karbaumer and David Heid came up with to solve the problem of future transportation, the theme for this year’s KPIT innovation contest, KPIT Sparkle Munich. For their disruptive idea, the student group from the University of Applied Sciences, Munich was conferred with the KPIT Sparkle Platinum Award, with a cash prize of 10.000 EUR. What makes the solution a very light and small vehicle is the folding mechanism and the high-tech material carbon fiber used in its body. The vehicle can be folded in just two seconds and can be carried all day long. “Thanks to KPIT Sparkle we could turn this idea into an award-winning prototype,” said the winning team.

Team “UTOP” from the Munich University of Applied Sciences and the Technical University Munich (TUM) won Gold while the silver went to Team “Individualization of Public Transportation” from the Technical University Munich (TUM).

Anup Sable, CTO, KPIT said: “The groundbreaking ideas that we received in the first German edition of our contest shows how well young students are able to identify problems and solve them with imaginative and scientific thinking. We are pleased to note that KPIT Sparkle has emerged as a platform for young innovators to think big and out-of-the-box.”

Started in April 2016, KPIT Sparkle Munich gave students the opportunity to submit their futuristic ideas on the given theme. The ten best teams were invited to present their prototypes at the final event in Schloss Hohenkammer on Friday, 24th February 2017. A jury of professors and experts from the industry chose the winners, based on innovation, social impact, technical knowledge and completeness of the prototype.

About UrbO:
UrbO is working on mobility solutions for the 21st century. Through its use of high-tech materials and a highly integrated design, UrbO develops a light and, above all, highly practical electric small vehicle for every day use. The start-up consists of Felix Ballendat, David Heid, Mathias Jehkul, Jakob Karbaumer and Nils Weiß and is supervised by the Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE) at the Munich University of Applied Sciences (MUAS). More information on UrbO: https://www.facebook.com/UrbO-182429515584968/

About KPIT Technologies
KPIT is a fast-growing technology company providing product engineering and IT consulting solutions and services. Leveraging its technology and domain expertise, KPIT partners with customers to co-create transformational value that provides sustainable, competitive advantage to their businesses. KPIT believes in the spirit of innovation and has 60+ patents. With a global presence in 16 countries and a strong workforce of over 10,800 employees, KPIT is celebrating 25 years of technology leadership and continues to create Technologies for a Better World. More about KPIT Technologies: www.kpit.com

About KPIT Sparkle
KPIT Sparkle is a design and development innovation contest for engineering and science students. The objective of the student contest is to encourage creative innovations and constructive pondering among young scientists and engineers. In India, KPIT Sparkle took place for the third time this year. In this edition, it received over 1500 ideas on the topic “Smart Cities” from over 10000 students from 329 colleges across India. KPIT Munich held its first contest in 2016/2017. In the future, it is planned to be expanded to other locations in Europe. More about KPIT Sparkle India: www.sparkle.kpit.com/ More about KPIT Sparkle Munich/Germany: www.sparkle.kpit.com/europe/

Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE):
The Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE) of the Munich University of Applied Sciences offers training and research programs in the field of entrepreneurship, and encourages innovation processes and the development of entrepreneurial personalities. SCE supports business start-ups from science and guides young businesses from idea development to marketable innovation. In this way SCE actively contributes to shaping the future of our society and to establishing a comprehensive start-up culture. SCE was founded in 2002 as an affiliated institute of the Munich University of Applied Sciences (MUAS). In July 2011 SCE and MUAS became one of the six EXIST Start-Up Universities in Germany. For further information visit http://www.sce.de/en/home.html