Sportradar, a global leader in understanding and leveraging the power of sports data, is pleased to announce “team RevolutION” as the winning team of the Innovation Challenge 2017, the latest edition of its mentorship and innovation programme for students in Ljubljana.
Now in its second year, Sportradar’s Innovation Challenge 2017 brought together a group of aspiring young innovators for one month to develop ideas based on sports data use. The challenge this year was to develop a product and business model that would re-invent the way sports data is consumed.
Sportradar once again teamed up with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana (FEUL) to run the programme. This year saw seven teams made up of 23 innovative students from five different faculties join the challenge at the application phase in September.
Each team delivered their ideas on Saturday 14th October following a whole day of brainstorming with representatives from Sportradar and the University. Together the representatives selected four finalist teams, providing further mentoring and support in bringing their concepts closer to marketability, as part of the competition phase of the challenge.
The four finalists then presented the final results of their teamwork to a jury of experts from the sports data industry on the last day, before the winning team, “team RevolutION” was announced (see the video of the final event here: https://youtu.be/br5HIYMznK4).
Indicative of the forward-looking character of the Innovation Challenge, “team RevolutION”’s winning idea was not connected to one of the classic global sports like football, tennis or basketball, but rather focused on the highly popular and exciting esports. The winning team was made up of four aspiring students with backgrounds in computer and information science. Upon winning the Challenge “team RevolutION” also collected a cheque for 4.000 €.
Sportradar’s Malte Siegle, Head of University and Research Program and Innovation Challenge mentor said: ““Team RevolutION” made effective use of Sportradar’s data sets together with its portfolio of live streams and betting odds information. It was good to see an idea that has the potential to significantly change the way fans experience and engage with esports come to life.
“We are very happy with the performance of all teams. It was a real close call and we had intense discussions about who was awarded as the winner. The purpose of the Challenge is to uncover and provide a platform for the next generation of sports data experts, so we are already really looking forward to next year’s edition.”
For more information on Sportradar’s sports technology and data products and services visit www.sportradar.com.
ABOUT THE INNOVATION CHALLENGE
The Innovation Challenge is a student competition and mentorship programme focused on engaging the next generation of entrepreneurs and young professionals in sports data and its potential. With this programme, Sportradar hopes to provide a platform to encourage students and recent graduates to transition ideas into prototypes and then onto commercially viable products. Participants have the opportunity to create innovative and original software applications and solutions using the market’s leading professional sports data.
In 2017 the Innovation Challenge took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia and was organised in partnership with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Ljubljana (FEUL). It was targeted at students and recent graduates across all domestic faculties and universities, including exchange students. Sportradar provided its market leading API and SDK services to all of the participating teams, as well as a group of industry-respected mentors, who brought years of experience in how to leverage sports data.
For details about the Innovation Challenge please visit the website http://challenge.sportradar.com or the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SportradarChallenge/.
ABOUT SPORTRADAR
Sportradar is a global leader in understanding and leveraging the power of sports data and digital content for its clients around the world. We provide cutting-edge solutions and services to media companies, bookmakers, sports federations and state authorities. We are a truly international organisation, employing over 1,800 people in more than 30 locations around the world. Our rapid growth is driven by technological innovation and a deep understanding of our clients’ business needs.
It is our commitment to excellent service, quality and reliability that makes us the trusted partner of more than 1,000 companies in over 80 countries. We occupy a unique position at the intersection of the sports, media and betting industries.
More information can be found on www.sportradar.com.
For further press enquiries:
Alex Inglot
Director of Communications and Public Affairs
Sportradar AG
P: +44 203 695 22 14
e-mail: [email protected]
