Students from Simmern develop innovative color mixing machines!

Students from Simmern develop innovative color mixing machines!

Paul Flad and Paul Scherer, student of the Herzog-Johann-Gymnasium in Simmern, have developed an interesting solution for the problem of the perfect color mix with their innovative color mixing machine. This technical progress is not only useful, but also shows how creativity and science can work together. On March 12, 2025, the two high school students won the Pitch event of "Jugend founded" in Münster, in which they prevailed against eight other groups from all over Germany. The competition took place in the education center of the IHK Nord Westfalen, which supported the event in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Sven Wolf, the Head of the IHK, praised the participants for their commitment and innovative ideas.

The color mixing machine from Flad and Scherer combines art and technology to reliably mix the desired color if the existing color palette is not sufficient. According to Rhein-Zeitung , the pupils now have the opportunity to take part in the federal final of the competition in Stuttgart.

competition and awards

As part of the pitch event, the participants presented their projects in just three minutes before a jury to convince. The color mixing machine from Flad and Scherer was not only impressed by the jury, but also the audience. Nine teams qualified for the preliminary decision in Münster, from a total of 1,177 business plans submitted. This start-up event is part of the major competition "Youth founds", which promotes and supports innovative start-up ideas from young people under the age of 21. The IHK North Westphalia plays an important role in the implementation of these competitions and strives to discover and support talents.

The "Orkkus" team from Münster presented an app to link batteries and tracking chips and took second place. Also exciting was the third place, which went equally to the “Handadapt” team from Dortmund and Paulin Wirth from Singen for his AI-supported travel base app. The competition not only gave the young entrepreneurs the opportunity to present their ideas, but also offered insights into the start-up scene and valuable tips from successful founders.

pedagogical context and promotion of young talent

Participation in competitions such as "Youth is founding" is not only an excellent opportunity for students to put their ideas into practice, but also an important part of a broader strategy to promote young talents in Germany. Every year, over 900,000 children and adolescents take part in various competitions, which are supported by

More competitions that open up new horizons ranges from MINT issues to social and social issues to cultural and linguistic challenges. The successful course of the competition in Münster underlines the relevance of such initiatives that specifically promote the discovery and development of one's own ideas.