Teams
At the Innovation Cup, several teams run in parallel, covering the areas described below. Based on interest and expertise, participants choose the fields they are most interested in. We look forward to meeting you soon!
Eligibility
- Postgraduate Students pursuing a PhD in one of the following fields: Biology, Medicine, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Computer Sciences, Data Sciences, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Engineering, Related fields
- Postdoctoral Students: Eligible to apply.
- MBA Students: Advanced MBA students or recent graduates with: an interest in the pharmaceutical business or a background in life sciences
- Exclusions: The program is not open to healthcare professionals.
Application process
- Application Deadline: January 31, 2025. You may apply for more than one team.
- Notification: Applicants will be informed about next steps by early March 2025.
- Idea Submission: Selected applicants will be invited to submit ideas by early April 2025.
- Team Selection: Team assignments will be finalized by early May 2025.
- Event Dates: The summer camp takes place from July 19-25 2025, near Frankfurt, Germany, with all travel, accommodation, and food expenses covered by Merck KGaA; Darmstadt, Germany.
Application Process
Oncology
Work on new innovative approaches for the targeted treatment of cancer with small molecules or proteins either directly attacking cancer cells or via stimulating the immune system and overcoming the immunosuppressive environment of tumors
Neuroscience & Immunology
The team will work on innovative approaches for the treatment of immune-mediated neurological diseases and rheumatological diseases of high unmet need.
Drug discovery
The team will work on innovative approaches to discover, screen, design and optimize new small molecular drugs or protein or nucleic-acid based drugs and their formulations.
Green Chemistry
The team will work on innovative algorithms and software tools for optimizing the design of greener chemicals and production processes.
Digital Health
The team will work on innovative "around the drug" solutions and approaches to support treatment success and increase health outcomes.
smart manufacturing
The team will work on innovative approaches for AI-driven energy saving, digital twins for manufacturing process optimization and top notch digitalization and automation solutions.
Neuro-inspired AI inference acceleration
The team will work on AI inference using digital dataflow computing architectures, emerging memories and/or algorithmic innovations.