Applications now open for the 2026 Strascheg Award

Hochschule München (HM) and the Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE) are once again seeking forward-thinking ideas for the Strascheg Award 2026. The award comes with a total prize fund of 30,000 euros.

Awards in three categories

The competition recognises innovative business ideas in the following categories:

• Category 1: The best business idea from my time at university
• Category 2: The best business idea from research and practice
• Category 3: The best business idea with initial market validation

Students, Professors, staff members and alumni of the HM are eligible to submit applications for the first two categories. The third category is also open to external teams.

Teams benefit from prize money and advice

The key criteria for awarding the prizes are the description of the problem, the proposed solution, the degree of innovation, the market potential and the implementation plan. In each of the three categories, the ideas ranked first, second and third will receive 5,000 euros, 3,000 euros and 2,000 euros respectively.

The submitted ideas will be assessed by entrepreneurship experts. All participants will receive expert feedback on their business idea. There is also an audience award.

Submissions can be made until 13 September 2026. Further information is available on the SCE website.


Josefine Hänsch