Press release
World-changing ideas at the Falling Walls Lab Finale on
8 November 2013 in Berlin
Winners of the Falling Walls Labs in Johannesburg, São Paulo, London, Moscow and Los
Angeles have now been selected to travel to the Finale in Berlin.
Berlin, 17 October 2013. In 2013, the Falling Walls Lab, the international forum for young
innovators, was brought to five cities across the globe. At all Labs, excellent Master students,
PhD candidates, Post Docs and entrepreneurs who were selected out of more than 270
applications, showcased their research work or business models in three minutes. The
winners presented ideas from various areas of science all of them with potential major impact
on societal challenges.
John Woodland of University of Cape Town won the first place at the Falling Walls Lab in
Johannesburg for his research on accelerating the development of more effective and more
efficient antimalarial agents. Woodland was very inspired by the Lab and said “I will return to
my research in Cape Town with renewed vigour.”
At the Falling Walls Lab in São Paulo, Caroline Varella of Universidade Estadual de São
Paulo convinced the jury with a new method of using waste generated by the refining
industry of soybean oil as raw materials for the paint industry. The winner of the Moscow Lab
was Ekaterina Geta from St. Petersburg, who researches new and innovative ways we cook
and consume food in order to break down the wall of food waste. In London, Katerina
Spranger of the University of Oxford succeeded with her idea of a new technology to help
doctors improve surgical procedures that are tailored to the needs of each individual patient
and provide the optimal treatment for cardiovascular diseases. Lena Bush of Goldsmiths
University will also travel to the Finale Lab on 8 November 2013. She is working on altering
behavioural patterns and promoting conscious consumption with her project "Stitch in Time"
– a sustainable fashion campaign that facilitates co-design, repair and do-it-yourself
practices. At the Falling Walls Lab in Los Angeles at the University of California (UCLA)
Kevin McFarland presented his start up business SmartestK12 – an online toolkit that helps
teachers save time, track student learning in real-time and take actions to ensure academic
growth. McFarland wants to change the way the world educates its future generations by
allowing teachers to utilise the information available in test scores and daily student
interactions to individualise the educational experience based on what each student needs
most.
The juries that awarded the most innovative presentations discovered new talents in all
corners of the world. The winners of all first phase Qualifying competitions get the
opportunity to travel to the Falling Walls Lab Finale in Berlin to share their innovative ideas
with 100 international scientists, professionals and entrepreneurs not older than 35 years of
age. All participants of the final Lab get an A.T. Kearney Scholarship that covers a ticket for
the Falling Walls Conference and the accommodation in Berlin. “We are looking forward to
witnessing 100 superb ideas presented in 3 minutes each and to interesting discussions with
young academics and professionals. We are proud to sponsor such a forward-thinking format
since its inauguration”, states Martin Sonnenschein, Managing Director Central Europe A.T.
Kearney in Berlin.
The Falling Walls Lab is an international forum, which aims at building and promoting
interdisciplinary connections between excellent young talents from all fields. At the Falling
Walls Lab, all participants present their breakthroughs in front of a distinguished jury – in
three minutes each. The Falling Walls Lab is organised by the Falling Walls Foundation and
supported by A.T. Kearney, the global management consulting firm (Founding Partner) and
KWS SAAT AG, the leading plant breeding company (Global Partner 2013).
Please see further details on www.falling-walls.com/lab.
Details on the Falling Walls Lab Finale in Berlin
Date: 8 November 2013
Time: 10am – 7pm
Location: Berlin Academy of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Tiergartenstraße 35, 10785
Berlin
Press Accreditation: www.falling-walls.com/press/accreditation
Live stream of the event will be available.
Contact:
Anne Lorenz
Head of Programme Falling Walls Lab
Falling Walls Foundation
Chausseestraße 8E
10115 Berlin, Germany
+49 30 609 88 39 71 Office
+49 30 609 88 39 79 Fax
anne.lorenz@falling-walls.com
About the Falling Walls Foundation
The Falling Walls Foundation is a non-profit organisation that fosters the discussion on
research and innovation and promotes the latest scientific findings among a broad audience
from all parts of society. It organises the Falling Walls Conference, an annual global
gathering of forward-thinking individuals from over 75 countries. Each year on 9 November,
20 of the world’s leading scientists present their current breakthrough research in 15 minutes
each. The Falling Walls Foundation is supported by the German Ministry for Education and
Research, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Helmholtz Association, the Berlin Senate for
Economics, Technology and Research and numerous other acclaimed academic institutions,
foundations, and companies. Visit www.falling-walls.com for more information, a short film
and the lectures of the past years.
About A.T. Kearney
A.T. Kearney is a global team of forward-thinking partners that delivers immediate impact
and growing advantage for its clients. We are passionate problem solvers who excel in
collaborating across borders to co-operate and realize elegantly simple, practical, and
sustainable results. Since 1926, we have been trusted advisors on the most mission-critical
issues to the world’s leading organizations across all major industries and service sectors.
A.T. Kearney has 57 offices located in major business centers across 39 countries. Further
information at www.atkearney.com.
About KWS
KWS is one of the world's leading plant breeding companies. More than 4,400 employees in
70 countries generated net sales of over €1.1 Billion in the fiscal 2012/13. For more than 150
years KWS has been managed as a family oriented and independent company. Main areas
of its work are the breeding of varieties and the production and sale of seed for corn, sugar
beet, cereals, potatoes, oil-seed rape and sunflower. 15 % of its annual sales is invested in
research and development. KWS uses state-of-the-art plant breeding methods and
technologies to continuously improve variety yields and resistances to diseases, pests and
abiotic stress. Further information on KWS is available online at www.kws.com.