As the SIC Gen-next 2025 enters its final stage, anticipation is building around what young innovators will bring to the table on 10 December. Designed to spark new thinking for basketball and sport, the challenge has quickly become one of the most interesting showcases of student-driven innovation in Switzerland.
This year’s edition invited participants to rethink two high-potential areas for the International Basketball Federation: the future of Women’s Basketball and the growing possibilities around health data and performance technology. The themes proved fertile ground. Across universities, students responded with sharp concepts, unexpected angles, and a refreshing appetite for experimentation.
The final pitches are expected to reflect this creative momentum. With solutions that range from new engagement models to data-powered tools aimed at improving athlete welfare and game experience, teams will have just five minutes to convince a jury (followed by a rapid-fire Q&A) that they should be the winners of this year’s edition.
A notable addition to this year’s jury is Fribourg Elfic’s pro player Koi Love, the Challenge’s Godmother, underscoring its strong connection to the athlete community. An American professional basketball player and former USC standout, she brings valuable on-court experience and a high-performance mindset to the Gen-next Challenge 2025 final.
She will be joined by:
- Nathalie Taylor, Head of Marketing Services, FIBA Marketing
- Frédérique Martin-Basté, Head of Partnership Management, FIBA Marketing
- Claudine Breton, General Director, ThinkSport
- Cyril Bouquet, Professor of Strategy and Innovation, IMD
- Bart Prinssen, Head of Equipment & Venue Centre, FIBA
- Wan-Ching Cho, Partnerships and Operations, FIBA
- Benoît Hanzen, Industry Manager Sports, Google
Together will select the most promising ideas of this year’s edition, which will see proposals from the following academic institutions:
- University of Lausanne
- AISTS
- HES-SO Valais-Wallis
- Sport Management School Lausanne
- Fernfachhochschule Schweiz
- Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya
Beyond the competition element, the Gen-next Challenge signals something bigger: a growing interest from sport organisations in tapping into academic talent to accelerate innovation.
The partnership with FIBA, supported by Swiss University Sports (SUS) and facilitated through ThinkSport’s innovation platform, highlights how federations are increasingly opening their doors to new voices and benefiting from them.
As the finals approach, the spotlight is now firmly on the students. Their work offers a glimpse into the sport sector’s emerging priorities, but also into the generation that will soon shape them.
Final pitches take place on 10 December.
For more information on the challenge: innovation-thinksport.agorize.com or https://thinksport.org/innovation/