€7 CASH@SCHOOL: STUDENTS TURN €7 INTO ALMOST €8.000

20.03.2026
General

That was the €7 Cash@School 2025 - 26 Festival of Ideas.

Seven euros turned into EUR 7.886,84: At the 7€ Cash@School Festival of Ideas at the Kufstein University of Applied Sciences in Tyrol, Tyrolean students presented their business ideas - developed over seven weeks of actual business operations under real-world market conditions.

In early February, the Kufstein Tirol University of Applied Sciences became a hub for entrepreneurial ideas: Students from all over Tyrol presented their projects at the 7€ Cash@School Festival of Ideas and demonstrated what can be achieved with creativity, teamwork, and a starting budget of just seven euros. Back in the fall of 2025, 36 teams from six Tyrolean schools had already launched the project to develop a marketable business model with this seed money and bring it to market. The Tyrol-wide implementation of 7€ Cash@School is supported by IFTE.at (Initiative for Teaching Entrepreneurship) and the Auxilium Pro Tirol Federal Foundation as the main funders. From the very beginning, the focus was on a clear principle: real business instead of fundraising.

7€ CASH@SCHOOL demonstrates how entrepreneurial skills can develop at an early age when young people take on responsibility, make decisions, and gain real-world market experience.

Karin Steiner

Lecturer for Business Management, Entrepreneurship & Controlling

From the initial idea through prototype development, pricing, and production to marketing and sales, the young people worked independently on their projects. The result: a combined profit of EUR 7.886,84 - generated through real customers, actual sales, and business decisions. After the project ended, the young people donated at least 80 percent of their respective profits to charitable causes of their own choosing.

PREMIERE 2026: THE IDEAS EXPO

For the first time, the state finals were organized as a festival of ideas consisting of two equally important parts: an open Ideas Expo followed by a Pitch Event.

Roughly 30 teams presented their projects at booths in the lobby of the Kufstein University of Applied Sciences in Tyrol. The students showcased prototypes, products, and concepts, answered questions, and engaged in conversation with other schools, partners, and guests.

The focus of the IdeenExpo was on exchange - not on judging. Visitors could vote for their favorites; the audience award was presented independently of the jury’s decision.

PITCH EVENT BEFORE A PANEL OF EXPERTS WITH BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

Twelve teams qualified for the PitchEvent through internal school-level preliminary rounds and were once again celebrated and honored in Kufstein as the winners of their respective schools. The presentations were evaluated by an external panel of experts comprising representatives from universities, the business community, and funding organizations.

The jury included Diana Baldinger (Sparkasse Kufstein), Carina Berger (Innovationsraum Kufstein), Markus Ehrlenbach (Kufstein University of Applied Sciences), Petra Jäger (einfacherleben, St. Johann/Tyrol), Prof. Johannes Lindner (IFTE.at), Tobias Loinger (Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce), Selina-Maria Schiller (Kufstein University of Applied Sciences), Prof. (FH) DDr. Mario Situm (Kufstein University of Applied Sciences), and Magdalena Wasilewski (Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce).

The evaluation focused on the business ideas, market development, operational implementation by the team, as well as financial success and the lessons learned from the experience.

TICKETS TO VIENNA AND NEW SPECIAL PRICES

New for 2026 is the trip to Vienna for the national finals of the Next Generation Award, a nationwide and international ideas competition for students. The following students secured their spots:

LUMA from TFBS Kufstein. The team created custom-designed coasters and other design products made of slate and wood, featuring their own humorous sayings.

System5 from the HAK/HAS Kitzbühel. The students developed digital gadgets and custom-programmed maps for online games and distributed them through gaming communities.

The Special Sustainability Award went to Plant a Memory from HLW Kufstein. The team created handmade greeting cards embedded with flower seeds that can be planted after reading.

The first-ever Social Impact Special Award was presented to Warm ums Herz from HAK/HAS Imst. The students sewed heat packs filled with rice and independently organized the production, procurement of materials, and sales as a team.

The IdeenExpo Audience Award went to Alpenduft Holzdesign from the HAK/HAS Kitzbühel. The team created Swiss stone pine products in collaboration with local carpentry shops.

The award for best video was presented to the HLWoodies from HLW Kufstein. The team crafted handmade wooden figures and also impressed the judges with a professional video documenting their project.

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

“The €7 Cash@School program demonstrates how entrepreneurial skills can develop at an early age when young people take on responsibility, make decisions, and gain real-world market experience,” said Karin Steiner of the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol.

Through collaboration with partners such as IFTE.at and the Auxilium Pro Tirol Federal Foundation, the project has evolved into a Tyrol-wide celebration of ideas. Looking ahead, 7€ Cash@School is set to be expanded into a robust initiative for entrepreneurship education in Tyrol, with the aim of further embedding entrepreneurial thinking in schools.