Innovator of the Year Award: Strong ideas, strong jury

“Being part of the jury for the Gruner Innovator of the Year Award was a truly enriching experience for me,” she says. She was particularly impressed by the high quality and diversity of the submitted ideas, as well as the clear structure and professionalism of the entire process. “The organization supported us as a jury in the best possible way – many thanks for that.”

Kathrin Schwan found those contributions especially exciting that were already able to demonstrate their added value for Gruner in very concrete terms – such as the AI-supported project assistant “GruBo,” the winning project, or approaches related to prefabrication and modular construction. In other words, ideas that are not only innovative but also close to practical application and business relevance.

The path to real innovation: focus on implementation

Kathrin Schwan’s key takeaway as a juror: “An early check of whether an idea already exists outside of Gruner, combined with a consistent focus on implementation, is crucial. True innovation happens where good ideas actually become reality.”

What does this mean for us? The quality of ideas is there – and it is also recognized externally. Now it’s about developing them further and bringing them to the finish line. Or put differently: If you have a good idea, share it – Gruner will support you in turning it into reality.