SensUs 2018
Recap

The exciting finals of SensUs 2018 took place at Eindhoven University of Technology on the 7th and 8th of September. Thirteen teams came together from North-America, Africa, Asia and Europe. The teams competed to inspire the public and convince the jury of the greatness of their biosensors for the detection of vancomycin, a last resort antibiotic.

The biosensors were tested by measuring antibiotics in blood plasma. The measurement results are available here and here. Visitors from all over the world watched the testing event live on the online SensUs Digital platform, featuring livestreams, pictures, and live data. Furthermore, everyone could vote for their favourite teams to help them win the Public Inspiration Award. A total of 4000 people voted and the cumulative visitor count was 10 000, from over 80 countries.

The teams demonstrated their sensors and presented several live pitches. They were judged by an international, multidisciplinary jury on Analytical Performance (the best measurement of vancomycin in blood plasma), Translation Potential (probability that the concepts will make it into society), and Creativity (novelty of approach).

This year’s winner was team SenSwiss from Switzerland. They won 1st place in Analytical Performance and they were the runners-up for the Creativity and Translational Potential awards. Glasgow took home 1st place in Creativity and Belgium (Leuven) won the Translational Potential award. The team from Egypt took first place in the Public Inspiration award; receiving just enough votes to beat the runner-up, Team T.E.S.T. from the Netherlands.

Besides the analytical testing, there was also a lot of focus on entrepreneurship and interaction between students and companies. The students participated in a highly interactive program at the High Tech Campus. Through speeddates and workshops, companies and students got in touch with each other. The companies were able to educate the students in many different fields related to the development of a biosensor, like microfluidics and product development, and meanwhile, the students gave the companies new innovative insights.

It was a fantastic week and we are proud to see the results. We are also really looking forward to next year. The University of Lisboa from Portugal will join the 2019 competition, which will take place on the 6th and 7th September 2019. The teams will develop biosensors for the detection of adalimumab, a commonly used drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

We thank all universities, partners, healthcare professionals, and public from all over the world for contributing to SensUs 2018 and we look forward to a great competition in 2019!