{"id":3417,"date":"2016-06-03T14:36:41","date_gmt":"2016-06-03T13:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/06\/03\/eur-student-wint-innovation-award-met-doven-app\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:12","slug":"eur-student-wint-innovation-award-met-doven-app","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/06\/03\/eur-student-wint-innovation-award-met-doven-app\/","title":{"rendered":"EUR student wins Innovation Award for app for deaf people"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Being able to follow group conversations despite being deaf or hard of hearing \u2013 it sounds like science fiction. However, thanks to an app developed by student start-up Ava, this dream is a lot closer to being realised. The app, invented by an international company including, among other people, by EUR student Jari Hazelebach, was awarded the top prize at the annual final of the Philips Innovation Award Ceremony.<\/p>\n

The app writes out conversations which are taking place in deaf persons\u2019 presence, with about a one-second delay. This allows deaf people to read on their phones what is being said. Since the telephones of all people taking part in the conversation \u2018listen in\u2019 by means of their microphones, deaf people can also see who is saying what. According to Hazelebach, the application even works relatively well in noisy surroundings.<\/p>\n

Deaf parents<\/h3>
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Jari Hazelebach<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Ava\u2019s team consists of people from several countries, and many members have experienced deafness in their own families and circles of friends. RSM student Hazelebach, 21, was allowed to deliver Ava\u2019s pitch in the final of the competition. During this pitch, he told the crowd about his personal ties with the product: both his parents are deaf. \u201cMy father is a technical engineer with TNO, but he has always been unable to follow work meetings. Thanks to Ava, he will soon be able to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

The English-language version of the app already works; the Dutch version is still experiencing a few teething troubles. However, that looks set to change over the next few months, says Hazelebach. \u201cMy parents are extremely proud. They just love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the moment, the Ava app is still in\u00a0beta mode\u00a0(testers are welcome!<\/a>), but once the app is released to the general public, a plan will probably cost \u20ac29 per month. Ava hopes insurers will be willing to pay this sum for its deaf and hearing-impaired clients. \u201cAmerica\u2019s health insurance system is rather different from ours, so that\u2019s not going to work. But in Europe, and particularly in the Netherlands, we think our app may stand a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Money and services<\/h3>

The Philips Innovation Award is the Netherlands\u2019 most prestigious student entrepreneurship award. The winner receives a prize worth \u20ac50,000, which partly consists of cash and partly of services such as consultancy, legal advice and patents services. A total of 331 start-ups took part in this year\u2019s competition.<\/p>\n

Ava will use the money to further develop the app.\u00a0\u201cOver the next few months we will launch the app in the United States, and between October and January\u00a0we hope to do so in the Netherlands,\u201d says Hazelebach. \u201cWe were able to move up our entry into the Dutch market, since some of the services we have won are geographically tied to the Netherlands.\u201d Hazelebach himself will go to California in July so as to gain valuable experience for the Dutch launch of the app.<\/p>\n

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Last year, Pearltect won<\/h2>