LaunchIT: NextGen Space Founders
LaunchIT: NextGen Space Founders
Got an idea? Working on research? Or simply interested in technology and space? Come and discover where it could take you.
LaunchIT: NextGen Space Founders is an accessible, open event focused on inspiration, networking, and discovering new opportunities for students and early-stage innovators. Its goal is to lower the barriers for students – including PhD candidates – to enter the space ecosystem, as well as other technology and innovation fields.
The core idea is simple: connect the right people with the right opportunities and with those who can help them move forward. Whether your starting point is “I’m simply interested in space,” “I’m a student with an idea or research project,” or “I want to actually build something or start a company.”
The event combines inspiring talks, discussions, and networking with presentations of real student projects.
These projects can demonstrate what can already be created and developed during university studies – and inspire other students to get involved, come up with their own ideas, or join an existing project.
Alongside the main conference programme, a partner zone will give students the opportunity to meet companies, startups, research organisations, and other ecosystem players in an informal setting. These organisations may be looking for new talent, projects, or opportunities for collaboration.
A separate and prominent part of the event will be a student hardware competition. Competing teams will present their projects and prototypes, with a strong emphasis on solutions that can be demonstrated live on site. The final presentations and announcement of the winners will take place as part of the main conference programme and will become one of the event’s highlights.
The competition will be designed around clear and directly demonstrable evaluation criteria, making the final engaging not only for the jury but also for the audience.
The overall aim of the event is to create a space where students do not need to know exactly what they want to do beforehand. It is enough to come with curiosity, an idea, or a project already in progress – and leave with inspiration, new contacts, and a clearer idea of what their next step could be.
