DMEA sparks Award
Recognition for Innovative Theses in Digital Health
DMEA sparks Award
The DMEA sparks Award recognizes practice-oriented theses in the fields of medical informatics, health economics, digital health, and related disciplines. The award focuses on bachelor's and master's theses that demonstrate innovative approaches and clear practical relevance.
Each year at DMEA, the best theses in e-health, health IT, health management, and related fields are honored. The award specifically highlights emerging scientific talent and brings forward-looking ideas for digital healthcare to the forefront.
Why it's worth participating
- Wide exposure for your bachelor's or master's thesis and ideas
- Numerous networking opportunities and direct access to decision-makers in health, IT, medicine, and nursing
- A pitch and awards ceremony in front of a large audience of experts
- An attractive prize of up to EUR 2,000
The winners in 2026
Category Bachelor
Fabian Bürki from Bern University of Applied Sciences took first place in this category with the development of an interoperable openEHR prototype for modernizing clinical application systems.
Second place went to Kian Hinke, from Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg, for his research on scanner-induced domain shifts in medical imaging.
Christian Franke, from Bern University of Applied Sciences, took third place with his work on optimizing the data integration and analysis of high-cost medications in the SwissDRG system.
Category Master
Pascal Hansen from the University of Heidelberg took first place in this category. In his work, he developed an online planning system for surgical tasks in autonomous robotic surgery.
Second place went to Mona Irsfeld from the University of Lübeck for her physically based modeling of glioblastoma growth using neural representations.
With the development of a functional electrical stimulation system that uses muscle activity to trigger specific hand movements, Laura Michnick from Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg took third place.
In addition, Laura Michnick also wowed the audience with her video pitch and was awarded the Audience Award.
Steps to the DMEA sparks Award
- Submission of the thesis
The application deadline will be announced shortly
Bachelor's or Master's thesis in PDF format, abstract, explanation of practical relevance - Evaluation period
February 2027
The expert jury reviews all applications and nominates the top five theses in each category. - Finalists will create a short video
Video will be factored into the jury’s evaluation and automatically entered into the Audience Award voting. - Pitch & Award Ceremony
At DMEA on April 14, 2027
The ten finalists will present their work to the audience. Following this, the top three bachelor's and master's theses, as well as the audience award, will be announced live.
The Jury
A distinguished panel of experts from academia and industry selects the winners. The jury evaluates submitted entries based on innovation, practical relevance, and contribution to the sustainable advancement of digital healthcare.
All jury members
Dr. Nils Benning
bvitg generation_next / d.velop AG
Dr. med. Katharina Ginter
Hashtag Gesundheit e.V. / IT-Beratung im Gesundheitswesen / Lehrbeauftragte THWS
Eric Grey
bvitg generation_next / Thieme Compliance GmbH
Martin Haslberger
Hashtag Gesundheit e.V. / Public Health Researcher TUM Klinikum Rechts der Isar
Dr. Csilla Imre
KH-IT e.V / Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR)
Heiko Mania
Vorstandsmitglied bvitg e.V. / NursIT Institute GmbH
Markus Stein
GMDS e.V. / RZV GmbH
Dr. Günter Steyer
BVMI e.V.
FAQs about the DMEA sparks Award
Graduates with practice-oriented bachelor's or master's theses on the topic of “Digitalization of Healthcare” may apply. Relevant degree programs include Medical Informatics, E-Health, Health Management, Health Economics, and Healthcare Management, among others.
Theses must have been submitted to a university in Germany or abroad after January 15, 2026. The final grade assigned by the university is not a prerequisite for submission and may still be pending.
Application and participation in the competition are free of charge.
Applications can only be submitted via the bvitg Service GmbH submission portal. After uploading, applications can be supplemented, modified, or withdrawn until the deadline. Submissions via email will not be considered under any circumstances.
Applications may be submitted in German or English.
Please have the following information and documents ready:
- Names and contact information for all authors
- Portrait photos of the authors
- Title of the thesis
- Abstract
- Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis in PDF format
- Information on the thesis’s practical relevance
Incomplete submissions, including abstracts that are missing or incomplete, will not be accepted for evaluation.
Yes, submissions are still possible in this case.
Unfortunately, theses that have already been submitted for the DMEA Young Talent Award or the DMEA sparks Award are not eligible to participate again. These theses will therefore not be included in the evaluation.
The prize money for the categories is structured as follows:
Bachelor's:
First place: EUR 1,500
Second place: EUR 1,000
Third place: EUR 500
Master's:
First place: EUR 2,000
Second place: EUR 1,000
Third place: EUR 500
Audience Award: EUR 500
Please create a video with a maximum runtime of five minutes.
All submitted theses will be made available exclusively to the jury and the DMEA project manager. The jury and project manager will treat the documents as confidential. If you require a special exemption, please send your request to Doreen Kempa at doreenkempa@bvitg.de before the submission deadline.