A sporting event is like a temporary mini-society.
Everything comes together there: visitors, volunteers, athletes, suppliers, weather conditions, logistics, energy, and waste streams.
That’s exactly what makes it the ideal testing ground for innovations. Here, you can not only showcase what your idea can do, but also experience firsthand how it performs under pressure. The environment is raw and real — and that makes the learning experience all the more valuable.

During the Innofest × SIA Sport program, teams get the opportunity to test their prototypes in this unique setting. Each team consists of a university of applied sciences, students, and an SME — a collaboration where knowledge, entrepreneurship, and ideas come together.

They receive up to €10,000 in funding to make their test possible, along with intensive guidance from Innofest. Over the course of about 15 hours, spread across six workshops, we help them formulate a strong test question, design their test case, and analyze their results. The program demonstrates the true power of testing: by experimenting in a real-world context, you discover what works, what can be improved, and how your innovation can make an impact.

The teams participating in Innofest × SIA Sport are working on a wide range of solutions, but they share one common mission: to improve the world of sports.
One team developed a breathing trainer in the form of a smart shirt that helps children regulate their breathing after exercise. Another created an app that motivates girls to be active together, while yet another worked on a sustainable linen poncho that allows athletes to change comfortably outdoors.

Nine out of ten innovations fail because they reach the market too soon — before being properly tested. That wastes time, money, and energy.
At Innofest, everything revolves around learning through practice. Our approach is simple but effective: test, measure, adapt, try again.
By experimenting in environments that mirror real life, developers make their products stronger and their impact greater. In this way, we help innovators not just come up with something new, but create something that truly works — and keeps working.