QHack Mannheim 2025 – Early Mold Detection

Context

24 hours, one real-world challenge, and a pitch that changed everything. At QHack 2025 in Mannheim, Heidi's team took on a challenge from Picnic Technologies: roughly a third of food is lost or wasted along the supply chain, and mould often goes unnoticed until a whole shipment is spoiled. The team won the first round, the second round and the overall competition, then pitched live on stage at QSummit to a room of innovators, founders and investors.

What we built

A smarter supply chain, powered by mould detectors and an Arduino that catch the first signs of mould before it can spread:

• Mould detectors monitor stored and transported goods and flag early signals of mould growth, so shipments can be checked or rerouted before they spoil.
• Businesses waste less, save more and protect the planet in the process.
• Heidi worked on the web application, the UI/UX design and the 3D design of the prototype, which made the pitch tangible.

Tech

Mould detectors · Arduino · web development · UI/UX design · 3D design

What I learned

How to pitch to investors and an expert jury: build a story around a solution and make it resonate. The jury's tough questions pushed the team to think bigger and pitch sharper. It felt like a full sprint through a real startup journey.

Why this shows I can…

Move beyond pure software into hardware-backed prototypes, frame a technical build around a sustainability problem, and deliver it under pressure, from first sketch to live pitch in a day.

Result

🥇 1st place at QHack 2025 Mannheim — winner of round one, round two and the overall competition, with a live pitch at QSummit.