Student team of Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) is rewarded with 30,000 Euros for their project “Eternal Sun”

Brussels, June 20, 2011 – Management and Technology consultancy BearingPoint (www.bearingpoint.com) has announced the European winner of the be.project competition in Brussels. A student team from Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, has convinced the jury with their social and innovative project “Eternal Sun”, a production of solar simulators, which can test and determine the efficiency of any type of solar panel. The project is rewarded with 30,000 Euros and BearingPoint support in implementing the project. Stefan Roest, co-founder of Eternal Sun, declared: “We are very proud to win this important award as well as BearingPoint support. The consultancy’s experience will help us to turn our idea in a real successful company.” The project has already obtained high ratings on the International standard of sun simulation.

Be.project was launched this year as an annual European competition aimed at students from selected top colleges and universities in Belgium/Netherlands, France, Germany and Switzerland. Student teams were invited to submit their ideas for a project of general interest, such as humanitarian, sports or cultural projects.

The competition and the total grant – one of the highest in Europe – highlight BearingPoint’s commitment towards European top schools and students to support large-scale projects and create long-term relationships with them. Peter Mockler, Managing Partner of BearingPoint: “With be.project we would like to share our passion for our core activity, Business Consulting. It is our aim to encourage student initiatives and promote the strong values of our firm, such as commitment, excellence, a culture of results and the capacity to work as part of a team.”

Local winners are rewarded with 15,000 Euros

About 40 European colleges and universities took part in the competition, leading to almost 90 registrations. The European winner was selected from all participating projects that won the local awards in their country. Each local winner is rewarded with 15,000 Euros and BearingPoint support in implementing their project. These are the following: 

  • Panacea (France): The project aims at creating aesthetic centers for people under chemotherapy and radiotherapy, who want to counter side effects of these treatments but need specialized care.
  • Lessons to learn on sustainable healthcare provision (Germany): Based on workshops with experts, best practices will be identified and evaluated for decision makers in rural areas who have to cope with problems in terms of healthcare provision.
  • Aiducation International (Switzerland): This social startup gives young talents in developing countries access to their own potential by awarding them with merit-based high-school scholarships.

All projects were evaluated based on the quality of the idea (innovation and change undertaken, ethical aspects of the approach, notion of generosity), the courage of the team (intensity of the commitment, notion of initiative), and the capacity to deliver the results promised (realism, pragmatism, achievement of first tangible results, quality of the teamwork).

About BearingPoint:

BearingPoint delivers business consulting with management and technology capabilities. 
As an independent firm with European roots and a global reach BearingPoint serves leading companies and public sector organizations world-wide to align and optimize processes, IT and operating models with business strategy. Driven by a strong entrepreneurial mindset and desire to create long-term partnerships, BearingPoint’s consultants are committed to delivering value to their clients. The firm’s approach to working with clients is highly collaborative and designed to improve business performance, from strategy through to execution. BearingPoint currently employs 3,200 people in 15 countries. 
For more information, please visit: www.bearingpoint.com

Press Contact:

Wiebke Hinz 
Manager Communications 
Tel. +49 69 13022 5991 
wiebke.hinz@bearingpoint.com