Belgian BISC-E Student Challenge 2023

Do you want to design a creative bio-based solution as a multidisciplinary student team? The Bio-based Innovation Student Challenge Europe (BISC-E), organized by the End-of-Waste/RE-SOURCE.BIO and GREEN-CHEM networks from AUGent, encourages students to explore innovation and business development in the emerging bioeconomy while developing a new biobased product or process. Are you up for the challenge? Register now or before 3 March 2023!

The Challenge

All student (Ba/Ma) teams develop a bio-based innovation (product or process) and present their ideas via a 15' live presentation to a jury of experts from industry and science during the Belgian final. The presentation has to be accompanied by a participation file with a few supporting documents explaining sustainability, technical feasibility and economic viability of your innovation.  

To be invited to the final the jury will first assess all applications via an online preselection based on a recorded presentation and the supporting documents. The 3 best teams will be selected for the Belgian finals to actually present for the live jury, followed by some Q & A. The winning team will receive personal coaching and will compete in the EU finals in Autumn.

All rules can be found in this regulation document. 

For Who?

The challenge is open for all Bachelor and Master students (+ PhDs as coaches). Due to the multidisciplinary character of the challenge it is recommended have at least 3 team members and to embody multiple disciplines in your team, of which exact science should be one. Team members can come from different institutions.

Everybody wins

Participating in BISC-E will give you a valuable entrepreneurial experience in the emerging bioeconomy, in developing a new product or process with all its aspects and in presenting innovative ideas for a panel of experts. On top of that there are great prizes to be won. 

How to apply 

To register for the BISC-E, just send an email to endofwaste@ugent.be with your potential team name, team participants and basic concept before 3 March 2023 and join us at the registration event in Ghent that evening!

To compete participants need to fill out this participation form with your recorded presentation and submit it to endofwaste@ugent.be before 17 March 2023.

To be eligible for the competition you need:

 - A team name

- A team manager (one of the student team members)

- A supervisor

- Fill out the participation form 

- Personal details of the team members

The 3 top teams will compete on 28 March in the Belgian final during the Vlaanderen Circulair event 'Bioeconomy: from ambition to action' in Bierbeek at TRANSfarm.

What

The student teams are asked to develop a bio-based product or bio-based process that could be integrated in the current (or near future) economy. 

A bio-based product is a product composed in whole, or for a significant part, of biological material derived from renewable biological sources, including plant, animal or marine materials. Where product is defined as: substance, mixture of substances, material or object resulting from a production process, this can be an intermediate, material, semi-finished or final product.

Two tracks can be followed.

1. For innovation concerning a bio-based product.
2. For innovations leading to a bio-based process or bio-based improvements of a process step. Also services or other innovations strongly advancing the bioeconomy not leading to a touchable prototype product that can be presented fall in this category. 

Timeline

3 March 2022 - Fun registration event in Ghent (to pitch ideas, create teams and meet like-minded student-entrepreneurs)

17 March 2023 -  Submission Deadline

28 March 2023 - Finals at Vlaanderen Circulair event (Bierbeek)

Autumn 2022 - EU Finals

Prizes

First prize  €1000 + coaching + free tickets to the EU finals in Autumn.

Second prize €500

Third prize €250