Students compete about the future of the printing industry

Wednesday 11 April was the big day for the prestigious competition JIBS Entrepreneurship Challenge at Jönköping University. The competitors were challenged to find a solution for the digital future of the printing industry and predict the customers changing requirements.

As always, the interest was great when the annual JIBS Entrepreneurship Challenge was settled. 15 teams participated and this year V-TAB, the largest printing group in the Nordics, was behind the competition. The challenge was to present a concept to V-TAB that the company could use to adapt to the digital development and meet the customers future demands.

“We have a great challenge ahead of us and the competition is a very good opportunity for us to receive as much input as possible,” said Pia Ivarsson, CFO V-TAB.

The competition began on Tuesday with a 24-hour time limit, and on Wednesday afternoon six participating teams were selected by the jury to proceed to the grand finale. Every finalist presented their concept in front of the jury and the audience at JIBS. After a long consideration by the jury, that contained representatives from JIBS, Science Park and V-TAB, a winning team was chosen. The winning solution was summed up as a strong belief in a new printing segment for V-TAB, in the form of printed electronics such as damp sensors and solar cells.

“The final decision was difficult, but the winners presented solutions that were both creative and future-oriented with sustainable values,” said Jerker Moodysson, dean at Jönköping International Business School.

The winning team consisted of Ida Modée, Hanna Johansson, Jacob Carlquist and Philip Svenningsson.

“We tried to focus on where the money and the markets will be in the future. Also, we tried to come up with a ”wow”-factor and let the company take a new step, but at the same time keep their core business,” said Ida Modée.

The winners were awarded a total of 60,000 Swedish crowns and a trip for the team members. The prize money comes from a fund consisting of shares donated by Lennart "Aktiestinsen" Israelsson. Printed solar panels that can be attached to any surface, and a solution that connected the V-TAB printing platform to AR technology were some of the other concepts in the grand finale.