As is often the case, the idea was born out of an everyday problem. Dominik and Benjamin’s dragon tree, emerald palm, and parlor palm fell far short of their usual life expectancy as indoor plants, an experience many people share. The plants ended up in the compost far too early. The two students refused to accept this and devoted themselves to this issue in their dissertation. The result is a flower pot that thinks!
AS WE ARE BOTH TECHNICIANS THROUGH AND THROUGH, WE DIDN’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MARKETING.
A DISTINGUISHED FLOWER POT
What unites “Team PlantAlive” is not only a shared love of technology, but also that both students work at E.G.O. in Oberderdingen and submitted the first interdisciplinary thesis at DHBW in Karlsruhe. “It was only thanks to the dual format that we were able to produce such an interdisciplinary dissertation in the first place, and we were very pleased that we were supported not only by E.G.O., but also by the supervisors at the BLANC & FISCHER Training Academy,” Schäufele is pleased to report.
So what’s next? After completing their studies, both Dominik and Benjamin are now full-time employees at E.G.O. The pair were also delighted to win second place in the Heinrich-Blanc-Foundation’s sponsorship award. But all this is no reason for the inventors to rest on their laurels. Because now the real work starts –marketing, a new prototype, expansion of the app, and a website for custom pot design by customers are on the agenda. How much water does my plant need? Who will take care of my flowers when I’m on vacation? Thanks to the two students’ clever idea, you no longer need to worry about these questions.
Image above: Benjamin Schäufele, Image below: Dominik Lange
HEINRICH-BLANC-FOUNDATION
THE HEINRICH-BLANC-FOUNDATION’S SPONSORSHIP AWARD HONORS OUTSTANDING BACHELOR’S OR MASTER’S THESES OR COMPARABLE ACADEMIC DISSERTATIONS, WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO STRENGTHENING SMES IN GERMANY BY MEANS OF INNOVATIVE PRODUCT IDEAS, PRODUCTION CONCEPTS, MARKETING CONCEPTS, OR ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGIES, ESPECIALLY IN HEINRICH BLANC’S FORMER SPHERE OF INFLUENCE IN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG.
www.heinrich-blanc-stiftung.de
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