Young woman in manufacturing with Yumi robot
xplore 2023 Technology Award Logo

From Australia and Asia, Africa, and Europe to North and South America – we are inviting participants from all over the world to the

xplore 2023 Technology Award for a sustainable world

xplore – Get Inspired

The competition for secondary school and university students, trainees, instructors, founders, and people who not only want to experience the future, but also to shape it.

 

xplore 2023 Project Presentations and Award Ceremony
Nomination of the 25 final project teams
Kick-off event xplore Award 2023: Announcement of the 100 selected teams by the jury
Kyle Miller, a former participant of the 2018 xplore Award, shares his personal experience with the competition
Invitation to the xplore 2023 Technology Award
The vision of the All Electric Society – a vision in which all of the major issues of our time are addressed
Review: xplore New Automation Award 2018

The winners of the xplore 2023 Technology Award for a sustainable world

It was a day full of excitement, emotion and celebration. After 20 months of intensive work, the 25 finalists of the "xplore 2023 Technology Award for sustainable world" presented their projects in Bad Pyrmont on Wednesday.

After the welcome by Frank Stührenberg, the teams started in the morning with the theoretical presentations of their projects via PowerPoint and/or video presentation. In the afternoon, the jury walkthrough followed with the presentation on the real model.

The evaluation of the 25 projects with this year's competition focus "Solutions for a sustainable world" was no easy task for the 11-member jury from science, education and politics.

But here they are, the winners of the xplore 2023 Technology Award for a sustainable world:

Alle ersten Plätze der xplore 2023

Sector Education

“Phoenix Contact TechEducation Metaverse“

Team TED-MVR von PRESENCE xR SOLUTIONS, S.L., Valdes (Asturias), PHOENIX CONTACT Spain

Education Winner xplore 2023

Sector Environment

“Smart Aquaponics Systems”

Team Smart Aquaponics

Heriot Watt University, Dubai, UAE

Environment winner xplore 2023

Sector Smart Technology

“Water Management at Home for Sustainable World Using IOT”

Team AQUA

Federal Institute of Science and Technology (FISAT), Mookkannoor, Kerala, India

Smart Technology winner xplore 2023

Sector Smart Energy

“UAV BASED PV SYSTEM INSP ECTATION”

Team Karya

Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Turkey

Smart Energy winner xplore 2023

Sector Social & Health

“NurseBot“

Team Robotium

Heriot Watt University, Dubai, UAE

Social & Health winner xplore 2023

Sector Inspiring Award

"Energy Efficiency Competition E-ES 2023"

Team Jelgava Secondary School of  Technologies

Jelgava Secondary School of Technologies, Latvia

Inspiring Award winner xplore 2023

And who are the runners-up? Of course, the runners-up are no less important to us! Here is an overview of all winners and runners-up:

For all those who could not be there. Here are some great impressions of the project presentations and the xplore 2023 xplore Award Ceremony: Have a look at the video in the video slider.

Congratulations to the winners and runners-up! And of course to the other teams! You were all lonely top!

For us, the xplore 2023 Technology Award was an unforgettable experience and we can't thank enough all our supporters internally and externally who made this competition possible!

News

The 25 nominees have been announced!

We are pleased to announce the 25 finalists that have been announced as part of the "xplore 2023 nominations"...

The German multinational Phoenix Contact selects four projects from the University of Oviedo for the Xplore Technology Awards 2023 programme

The academic institution becomes the European university with the largest number of projects participating in this international competition ...

The xvention review

The xplore2023 goes into the next round: with 100 teams from 30 countries. The projects of the technology award for a sustainable world have thus been selected. A recap of the exciting launch event can be found in the video slider.

Phoenix Contact wishes the selected teams every success in implementing their projects in the next phase of xplore 2023.

The xvention

The xplore Technology Award 2022 is entering its next phase and in this year's xvention we would like to announce the 100 teams that will be sponsored by Phoenix Contact. ...

The xvention

The academic institution becomes the European university with the largest number of projects participating in this international competition.

Gijón/Xixón, 3 October 2022. Four projects linked to innovation and sustainability in the fields of technological digitalisation, electric mobility, energy management and the internet of things (IoT) have been selected for the next edition of the Xplore Technology Awards 2023 programme of the German multinational Phoenix Contact. These projects have been presented by different multidisciplinary teams from the University of Oviedo. The Asturian academic institution thus becomes the European university with the largest number of projects participating in this international competition.

The four selected projects were presented this morning at an event held at the Polytechnic School of Engineering of the Gijón Campus, which was attended by Begoña Cueto, Vice-Rector for Transfer and Business Relations; Juan Carlos Campo, Director of the EPI; and Adriano Mones, ambassador of the Xplore Technology Awards 2023 programme of Phoenix Contact Tech Education.

The Project Engineering and Sustainable Engineering Group, made up mainly of professors and researchers from the Engineering Projects Area, has been chosen to develop a project linked to the generation of clean energies in the field of digitalisation. The Wolfast Uniovi Racing Team has been selected to design a modular battery in the electric mobility category. The Gijón Smart Cities Chair team will develop an advanced energy asset management system in the digital technologies section. And finally, in the smart factory category, the Systems and Automation Engineering Area will create an automated machine to produce textile material and to recreate art works.

In addition, two other projects submitted from Asturias have been selected on this occasion. One of them is called Tech Education Metaverse by the startup PXR, linked to the University of Oviedo, which has been selected in the education category to develop a project which scope consists of creating a scalable training metaverse using virtual reality. Finally, the e-com project, presented by CODEMA High School of Gijón and which scope is the design of a smart container for waste recycling, has also been chosen in the education category.

This German multinational has been organising this international technology and education competition for 20 years, both for secondary school and vocational training students, as well as for university students, teachers, and entrepreneurs in the field of technological innovation and sustainability. In this edition, the 20 best projects from all over the world will be invited to Germany to participate in the grand finale, which will take place in 2023, coinciding with Phoenix Contact's 100th anniversary.

a large group of people are in the foyer of a Phoenix Contact building, stretching their arms upward and waving

The Award

For nearly 100 years, Phoenix Contact has stood for technological innovation. That was and remains the core of our xplore competition, which is now going into its eighth edition. In this edition, the mission combines technologies with values, people, and the future. Entirely in the spirit of our purpose:

Together we are creating a sustainable world based on our passion for technology and innovation

This is what we would like to achieve and promote globally with xplore 2023. The  only way to create a sustainable world is to do it together.

The benefits

xplore 2023 is designed to inspire and support young people in implementing their ideas for a sustainable world.
To make this idea a reality, we support participants with all the technologies and products that are available at Phoenix Contact – that’s more than 100,000 products.

Each team will receive a voucher for goods valued at over 3,000 euros and can have the most suitable components for their own solution delivered free of charge.

In addition, we offer the expertise and advice of the entire Phoenix Contact community. From the 100 teams, the international jury will nominate 25 finalist teams that we will invite to Germany.

During a huge event, the participants will present their technical innovations with all their functions and features. The jury will then select up to three best ideas in each of the categories.

a group of six young students stand in a row on a stage and present their certificate

The entire competition schedule

a timeline showing the different phases of the competition

The contact persons

This is our xplore core team. If you have any questions about the competition, feel free to contact us.

Contact persons of the xplore project, two men and two women sitting on a couch and smile

From left to right: Klaus Hengsbach, Sarah Pyritz, Edmond Thevapalan, Tina Seehoefer

The patronage

Patronage by the industry

Nobody can really change the world alone not with the strongest technology in hand. It needs global cooperation, it needs global teams and what is the precondition for working in global teams? It's having at least a similar understanding of the technology, of the application and that needs a certain level of know-how, of education and training. That is what we as a company as Phoenix Contact, we are developing with our employees as well as we are doing it with our customers and our partners. With this interest we have developed many years ago the xplore competition.

 

Find out more in my personal video message.

Frank Stührenberg
CEO of Phoenix Contact

Patronage by the government

The climate crisis is one of the most important and most urgent challenges of our time. Only if we protect nature as the basis for life on our planet and respect planetary limits can we continue living in freedom and prosperity. We must accelerate the energy transition in order to achieve the necessary pace of change.

New technologies are needed on a large scale in order to shape our future in a sustainable way, and to make it more innovative, smarter and a more attractive place to live in. For this, we need people who think out of the box and who are dedicated and creative when implementing their visions. However, we lack around 280,000 skilled professionals, especially in the STEM occupations that are so necessary for this ecological transformation. And demand will continue to rise. By taking part in this competition, you have a unique opportunity to help us find the technological solutions we need for a sustainable world.

I wish all the participating technology enthusiasts from all over the world much fun, creativity and success and wish to thank Phoenix Contact and everyone involved for making this competition possible. We at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action are very much looking forward to the presentation of your ideas at the award ceremony.

Dr. Robert Habeck
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action

The jury

Gunther Koschnick

Gunther Koschnick

ZVEI e. V.

Automation Division
Managing Director

Selina Kerscher

Selina Kerscher

University of Oviedo

PhD Candidate and Researcher in the field of Energy and Process Control

Dr. Frank Possel-Dölken

Dr. Frank Possel-Dölken

Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG

Chief Digital Officer (CDO)

Dr. Gert Zinke

Dr. Gert Zinke

Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training

  • Department: Structure and order of vocational education
  • Work Area: Electrical, IT and Natural Science Professions
Prof. Dr. Martina Lehser

Prof. Dr. Martina Lehser

  • Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technologies (ZeMA), CEO
  • University of Applied Sciences (htw saar), Saabruecken, Head of Embedded Robotics Lab
Prof. Dr. Xiao Feng

Prof. Dr. Xiao Feng

Tongji University

  • Director of Sino-German College of Applied Sciences
  • Director of Sino-German College of Technical and Vocational Education
Dr. Susanne Franke

Dr. Susanne Franke

Don Bosco Mondo e.V.

Business Cooperation, Vocational Training Competence Team

Dr. Reinhard Hüppe

Dr. Reinhard Hüppe

New Automation e. V.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Anja Moldehn

Anja Moldehn

Centrum Industrial IT (CIIT) e. V.

Executive Board & Technology Management

Hubert Romer

Hubert Romer

WorldSkills Germany e. V.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Dr. Tanja Emmerling

Dr. Tanja Emmerling

High-Tech Gründerfonds

Partner and Head of Berlin

Active for you on site

All of our subsidiaries will support the competition, so you will definitely have a point of contact for your questions and answers nearby.

If you have any questions about the xplore Award 2023, please find your regional contact here.
We are there for you on site.

Eva Holzapfel-Zahlner

Austria

Dorota Czech

Poland

Vishal Kumar

India, Srilanka & Bangladesh

"हम ऐसे लोगों से प्यार करते हैं जो प्रौद्योगिकी की असीमित संभावनाओं के बारे में सोचते हैं। यह उन लोगों के लिए सबसे अच्छा मंच होगा जो अपनी कल्पनाओं को जीवन देना चाहते हैं"

Asta Blažytė

Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia

"This competition is a unique and exciting opportunity for young innovators to receive the recognition and support to implement their idea for a sustainable world. Join our technology award and make your idea a reality!"

Rute Silva

Portugal

"Quantas vezes ouviste dizer que nós, os portugueses, somos muito “engenhosos”! Está no nosso ADN encontrar soluções. Submete a tua ideia para um projeto. Junta-te a nós para criarmos um mundo mais sustentável!"

Mathias Bäck

Sweden

"Bevisa att de svenska ungdomarna tillhör de bäst utbildade och de mest kreativa hjärnorna i världen. Gå med i Phoenix Contact xplore Award, ladda upp din projektidé och få chansen att vinna en oförglömlig upplevelse på Phoenix Contacts huvudkontor i Tyskland."

Enrique Montes Rodriguez

Spain

"Esta nueva edición del proyecto Xplore va a ser muy singular y diferente a las anteriores ya que se culminará el año que viene coincidiendo con nuestro primer centenario. Por ello, queremos hacer de esta edición una oportunidad única y muy especial para todos los centros de formación para que tanto alumnos como profesores puedan desarrollar esa idea innovadora que nos ayude a todos a conseguir un mundo más sostenible. Si te apasiona como a nosotros la tecnología y el reto por mejorar el presente, estoy seguro que te interesará nuestra propuesta. Muchas gracias por tu atención, te esperamos."

Dania Liswi

Middle East Region

Zhenghan Li

China

Karl Declercq

Belgium

Jerry Wise

United States

Christian Travaini

Italy

"Una piccola idea, un grande passo per l'umanità! Aiutaci a costruire un domani più sostenibile. Se la tecnologia è il tuo pane quotidiano, ti offriamo una grande opportunità per dare forma ai tuoi progetti. Unisciti alla nostra comunità globale di giovani appassionati per trasformare il tuo sogno in realtà: scendi in campo con noi!"

Rossella Zanelli

Italy

"AAA cercasi giovani innovatori! Partecipa anche tu a Xplore, una competizione globale che può trasformare le tue idee in veri e propri progetti. I piccoli passi che cambiano il mondo si fanno sempre assieme e noi non vediamo l'ora di poterti aiutare a costruire un futuro più sostenibile! Partecipa anche tu e unisciti ad una community globale di giovani inventori"

the company Phoenix Contact

The company Phoenix Contact

Phoenix Contact is a globally present, Germany-based market leader. Our group is synonymous with future-oriented components, systems, and solutions in the fields of electrical engineering, electronics, and automation. A global network across more than 100 countries and 17,600 employees ensure close proximity to our customers, which we believe is particularly important.

Together with customers and partners, we design solutions for the future using trend-setting connection and automation technology. Wherever they are needed – for example, in transportation infrastructure, electromobility, for clean water, regenerative energies and intelligent supply networks, or energy-efficient machine building and systems manufacturing.

We face up to technological developments and the associated changes in society. With almost 100 years of experience in the fields of machine building and automation, we are working on tomorrow's intelligent production today.

Find out more here:

partners of xplore

ZVEI: Die Elektroindustrie - Logo
newautomation "Innovation in education" - Logo
Afrika Verein - Logo
Tech Education - Logo
Airfrance und KLM - Logo
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