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The SMILE startup team "Disaster Relief System", based at the SEPT Competence Center of Leipzig University, together with four other startup projects from other cities, receives the 2500th EXIST startup grant. EXIST is a funding program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) that supports startups from universities and research institutions.

The DRS project aims to provide affordable technical equipment for immediate aid in case of a humanitarian catastrophe. The system consist of stackable, connectable, and transportable containers for the purpose of filtering water, generating power, establishing emergency communication, and clearing streets. The units are designed to be as generic as they are simple in use.

The Mentor Prof. Dr. Utz Dornberger from Leipzig University: "It is important that the startup team thought about the perspective of the global south from the very beginning. Of course, European organizations for disaster management are also important customers, but we have to think about Asia and Africa as markets right from the beginning."

Source: Susanne Huster (Leipzig University)