Students from ETH Zurich win be.Project competition

BearingPoint awards 12,000 Euro prize to “SmargeTech” - an invention that charges electric cars with the most environmentally friendly electricity

Brussels, July 18, 2013 - Management and technology consultancy BearingPoint (www.bearingpoint.com) has chosen the winner of the be.Project European student competition. A team from ETH Zurich convinced the jury in Brussels that their dedicated and innovative project "SmargeTech" should win the €12,000 first prize.

The prize jury heard that the steadily growing market for electric cars and associated increase in charging volumes will have a marked effect on the stability of the power supply system. The goal of SmargeTech is to support the stability of the supply network and energy balance with the help of a smart charger invention (“Smarger”). Through a user friendly application and driven by cloud technology, Smarger users can charge their electric cars using only the most sustainable (green) electricity sources. As well as the prize money, BearingPoint consultants will help develop the project.

Stefan Deml, co-founder of SmargeTech said:

“We are delighted to receive the support of BearingPoint, whose professionalism is helping turn our project into a reality. Winning the be.Project final in Brussels was a great achievement for us and together with the powerful network of BearingPoint, it will help us to find interesting project partners to bring our vision to market.”

This year’s be.Project competition was particularly closely fought. Highly innovative projects were submitted by students from 40 European universities and high schools. Country winners invited to Brussels were each awarded a prize of 6,000 Euros and support by BearingPoint consultants in product development. In addition to “SmargeTech” from Switzerland, the following projects were amongst the country winners:

• ONE NIGHTS TENT (Benelux) – a biodegradable tent for (music) festivals with the goal of reducing the ecological footprint of these events.
• FeetMe (France) – supporting diabetics with the help of an innovative shoe sole for early recognition of pressure sores.
• KitRad (Germany) –a wind turbine kit with allows anyone to generate electricity.

All projects were evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Overall quality against the background of an ethical research approach and consideration of innovation and change;
• Team spirit;
• Potential, the target of realistic and measurable results;
• Originality and creativity;
• Fit with BearingPoint‘s values and principles.

Michael Donat, firm-wide Human Capital Management Director at BearingPoint said:

“The four finalists showed the high level of commitment and expertise of Europe’s college and university students. The jury was highly impressed by the importance and creativity of the projects as well as the capability to achieve tangible results.”

About be.project

Be.project was launched three years ago as an annual European competition aimed at students from selected top colleges and universities in Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland. Student teams were invited to submit their ideas for an innovative or sustainable projects. BearingPoint’s aim is to encourage creativity and foster its values of passion, excellence, team work, commitment and stewardship amongst students. The competition highlights BearingPoint’s commitment towards European top schools and students to support large-scale projects and create long-term relationships with them.

About BearingPoint

BearingPoint consultants understand that the world of business changes constantly and that the resulting complexities demand intelligent and adaptive solutions. Our clients, whether in commercial or financial industries or in government, experience real results when they work with us. We combine industry, operational and technology skills with relevant proprietary and other assets in order to tailor solutions for each client’s individual challenges. This adaptive approach is at the heart of our culture and has led to long-standing relationships with many of the world’s leading companies and organizations. Our 3350 people, together with our global consulting network serve clients in more than 70 countries and engage with them for measurable results and long-lasting success.

For more information, please visit: www.bearingpoint.com