Good ideas deserve more than a good grade

SWARCO Indusferica launches SITA 2026/27

The SWARCO Indusferica Talent Award is back for its second edition. Following a successful debut in 2024/25, SWARCO Indusferica is once again inviting students to explore new perspectives for glass filler beads in industrial applications. The award is about more than innovative ideas alone: it is also about giving student-led research the visibility, recognition and real-world impact it deserves.

When ideas get noticed

Neufurth, May 2026 – Cornelia Marchfelder, winner of the first SITA, knows just how powerful visibility can be. When she learned that she had won the award, her first reaction was “pure joy. The award was not just a prize. It was confirmation that my work was being seen and that student research can matter beyond the university,” says Marchfelder.

For her, taking part was above all an opportunity to connect theoretical concepts for sustainable change with a specific industry project. What she found particularly exciting was the link between research and industry. The award showed her that ideas around sustainability do not have to remain purely theoretical, but can find an audience beyond the university.

SITA 2026/27 builds on exactly this idea. The award recognizes projects that combine scientific quality with practical feasibility and bring fresh thinking to industrial applications. It is looking for new perspectives that show what glass filler beads can make possible today, for example in plastics, coatings, additive manufacturing or applications in the construction industry.

Marchfelder also emphasizes that a submission can have an impact well beyond the competition itself. A good grade is valuable recognition during a degree programme, she says, but visibility creates real opportunities. Bringing student projects into the public eye shows how closely universities and industry can already work together on the issues shaping the future.

Her advice to students working on an exciting project but still unsure whether to submit it: “Just go for it! You have nothing to lose, but you gain experience and, in the best case, a fantastic award and a real sense of validation.”

The award also had a personal impact: Marchfelder used the prize money from her first-place win to invest in her own photovoltaic project, fittingly in line with the subject of her work.