Mahmoud Elsanhoury, Eldrige de Melo, and Mikko Punnala competed against eight teams on the business competition held July 11-12

On July 12, 2024, the Unicore team from University of Vaasa emerged victorious in EUNICE Imagine Innovation Cup. Their innovative solution, which enhances navigation accuracy in logistics, aerial mobility, and marine navigation via a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation providing Positioning Navigation and Timing services, impressed the judges and secured the first prize.

Mahmoud Elsanhoury, Eldrige de Melo, and Mikko Punnala, the brilliant minds behind the Unicore project, are PhD students in University of Vaasa. The project meets at least five Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), benefitting people, the planet, and prosperity. Their business plan earned them a €1,000 prize and the honor of being named the best start-up idea in the competition.

“The key element for this kind of initiative is to get further collaborations.”

Mikko Punnala

The EUNICE Imagine Innovation Cup is a business competition for students from EUNICE partner universities, offering support to develop business plans and launch new companies. The competition, held this year at the University of Cantabria in Spain, featured nine teams from EUNICE universities across Europe, including Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, France, Belgium, Poland, Finland, and Portugal.

Congratulations Mahmoud, Eldrige and Mikko on your well-deserved success!

For more information about the event and other participants, visit EUNICE’s article.