De-TECH Innovation Tech Challenge 2027 – Smart Materials & Intelligent Systems

Call for Industry Challenges – Focus on Smart Materials & Intelligent Systems (Robotic, Process Automation, AI etc.)
Funded by the European Union – EIT HEI Initiative

Turn your challenge into innovation: The De-TECH Innovation Tech Challenge 2027 invites companies and organizations to submit real technological or innovation-related challenges, addressed by interdisciplinary student teams from leading European universities developing science-based solutions.

The initiative is part of the EIT Higher Education Initiative, which promotes collaboration between academia, industry and innovation ecosystems across Europe.

Our academic partners include:

• Technical University of Madrid (UPM)
• Estonian Business School (EBS)
• Istanbul Technical University (ITU)
• Leibniz University Hannover (LUH)

What are Tech Challenges?

A Tech Challenge is a real-world problem provided by a company or industry stakeholder. International student teams work on innovative solution concepts addressing current technological or innovation-related challenges.

The challenges should be:

• High-tech-oriented, in the field of Smart Materials & Intelligent Systems (Robotic, Process Automation, AI etc.), or related sectors.
• Open-ended, allowing interdisciplinary and creative solutions.
• Optional: linked to cross-over fields such as sensor technologies, resource efficiency, IoT, Digital Manufacturing, etc.
• Based on real needs and relevant to current market or research trends.

See example Tech Challenge below. For more information about the Tech Challenges, please click the download link.

Why participate as a company?

• Gain fresh ideas and perspectives from talented students across Europe.
• Connect with leading universities and young innovation talent.
• Receive tailored, early-stage solution concepts for your challenge.
• Engage in international knowledge exchange and visibility.

Companies should name a contact person for the specific challenge. Ideally this person could participate at the finale event. 

What happens next?

• 01 December 2026: Deadline for companies to submit a Tech Challenge.
• December 2026: Selection of challenges.
• January – February 2027: Student teams select a challenge and begin working on solution proposals.
• End of February 2027: Selection of the best proposals together with the participating companies.
• 8– 9 April 2027: Final workshop and presentations in Madrid, Spain.

After the workshop, companies may further collaborate with selected teams.

Interested? Submit your challenge via our online form: Link

For further information, please contact:

Dr.-Ing. Henning Lucas                                                                         Inessa Prozorova, M. Sc.
henning.lucas@ite.uni-hannover.de                                 inessa.prozorova@ite.uni-hannover.de

Example from a Previous Challenge: Aerospace Challenge – Space Debris and Orbital Safety

In a previous edition, students developed concepts to reduce the environmental impact of satellites. The challenge focused on replacing aluminum structures and designing sustainable satellite systems that minimize environmental impact during atmospheric re-entry.

Students explored solutions such as:

• Alternative satellite materials
• Minimizing metal dispersion during satellite re-entry
• New Design-for-Demise / Design-for-Non-Demise strategies
• Economic incentives and new business models for sustainable satellite technologies