The winning team of the Entrepreneurship Challenge brought home SEK 60,000.

On Wednesday, April 17, it was time for the final of the JIBS Entrepreneurship Challenge 2024 at Jönköping University (JU). The competition was held for the 13th time, challenging students to solve a hands-on and real-life problem from a company. This year, the challenge was provided by Hide-a-lite, a brand within Elektro Elco AB, which tasked the students with developing a resource-efficient and innovative concept for AI-enabled LED lighting products. The students competed for a total prize pool of SEK 130,000, donated by the Aktiestinsen Foundation.

Interest in this year’s edition of the competition was very high, and the JIBS Entrepreneurship Challenge received a total of 28 applications from interested teams. Of these, 15 teams were selected to participate in the prestigious competition, which began on Monday morning with a lecture by Science Park on sales and motivational presentation techniques, and a session with Elektro Elco AB presenting this year's challenge to the students.

Alexander Ljungqvist, Marketing and Product Manager at Hide-a-lite, was very pleased with the students' presentations and their proposed solutions for AI-enabled lighting products.

"It was incredibly fun. This kind of new thinking is exactly what we are looking for in our operation. It really gives a whole new perspective", says Alexander Ljungqvist.

Several good proposals were presented during the final

The real competition began on Tuesday morning when the different teams were assigned a room at JIBS, where presentations and product ideas were brainstormed until Wednesday morning, when it was time for all teams to present their solutions. After deliberation by the jury, the six best teams were allowed to present once again in a grand final, where the winning team was announced with their idea about adaptive lighting capabilities in street lighting, especially in harsh weather conditions such as snowfall and rain.

"The presentations during the final were very good, but after a lot of pondering, we all agreed on which team should win", says Alexander Ljungqvist

The winning team consisted of the JIBS students William Mustajärvi, Gustaf Thor, and Adam Aurell. Their proposal was based on first investigating previous work on adaptive lighting capabilities, which then resulted in the fictional product Vision Track 2.0.

"It feels absolutely fantastic, we've worked hard for this and really feel that what we've presented here today has great potential for Hide-a-lite", says William Mustajärvi, team leader of the winning team.

The teams that came in second and third place were awarded SEK 40,000, and SEK 20,000 respectively. Science Park also awarded a prize for the most sustainable idea, with a win of SEK 10,000.

The competition concept connects theory and practice

Johan Klaesson, Dean and Managing Director at JIBS, who was on the jury for the first time, was impressed by the students' proposals and sees the competition as a successful initiative.

“This allows the students to apply everything they have learned inside the classroom in practice. To then present it in front of a larger audience, answer questions, and participate in realistic discussions are valuable experiences that the students take with them, says Johan Klaesson."