Students at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences want to make citizen services more digital

Company "neuraflow" develops apps and chatbots for companies and cities

Long waiting times in telephone loops and confusing websites: People who need an appointment at the citizen service centre, are looking for the right contact person or don't know how to apply for a passport often have to be patient. Students Dustin Klepper and Pascal Nobereit from Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences want to use artificial intelligence to make local authorities and companies more digital and fit for the future. With their start-up "neuraflow", they are developing chatbots, among other things, and have already won over the first cities as customers.

His name is Siggi and he is still learning. With his knowledge of the city of Siegburg, he helps people who want to make an appointment at the citizen service centre or do something. Not only does he know all the important telephone numbers and places of interest, he also knows which documents are needed to apply for an identity card. He is available day and night to answer any questions. He doesn't need to sleep or rest. Siggi is the city's official chatbot and one of the first orders for the young company "neuraflow". Founders Dustin Klepper and Pascal Nobereit still remember well how they were able to convince the city of their idea. "Our presentation took place in front of the entire council meeting. That was a really exciting date for us," says Dustin Klepper.

It took around three years from the initial business idea to the presentation in Siegburg. During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, student Pascal Nobereit decided to use the time for something useful and positive. So he taught himself how to develop apps with the help of tutorials. However, he was initially unsuccessful. "I only earned eight euros with my app in two years," he says. He then met Dustin Klepper on the Foundation, Innovation, Leadership programme at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. "We had very little contact in the first year of the programme. We liked each other and were also in the same cooperative, but we tended to study independently of each other," says Dustin Klepper. In May 2022, Pascal Nobereit approached him with an idea. "I had developed my app further and watched a lot of videos about artificial intelligence. ChatGPT was just emerging at the time and I realised that it was a really big thing. I approached Dustin and suggested that he set up an app agency and develop apps for companies," says Nobereit. This was the beginning of "neuraflow".

The two students needed a lot of patience to get started in entrepreneurship. "We spent several weeks phoning authorities and companies in Germany, but initially only received rejections. Finally, we were able to arouse the interest of the digitisation office in Nettetal. They were very open to new ideas and commissioned us," says Dustin Klepper. Thanks to this initial reference, they were then able to convince other cities, including Siegburg, Coburg, Goslar, Bonn and Freiburg. A chatbot called "Hein Mück" also recently went online in Bremerhaven. They are also working on a web application for Bremerhaven's Nordsee-Zeitung newspaper to make the archive more accessible. "Artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionise industries and offer innovative solutions to complex problems. That's why we want to use innovative, low-threshold approaches to drive forward digitalisation in Germany," explains Pascal Nobereit.

However, the company's success also brings new challenges for Dustin Klepper and Pascal Nobereit. "We have grown so much in just six months and there are now nine of us in the company. This naturally means a lot more organisation and responsibility for us. We increasingly have to think about areas that we hadn't considered before," says Pascal Nobereit. And the company would like to grow even further: "We are currently looking for motivated and curious people, especially programmers, who can identify with our mission and can cope with our still somewhat chaotic structures." Further information about the company and contact details can be found at www.neuraflow.de.

The Foundation, Innovation Leadership degree programme teaches methods, models, skills, abilities, attitudes and practical experience for designing, planning, implementing and managing challenging, innovative projects in a team. The learning environment is a real company that is jointly owned by all students and which they develop and operate together. They learn how to manage themselves, lead projects and teams, develop innovative business ideas, build customer relationships and, if they wish, set up their own company. The application deadline for the winter semester 2024/25 is 15 August 2024. Further information on the degree programme can be found at www.hs-bremerhaven.de/Gruendung-Innovation-Fuehrung.