In all, there were 114 submissions for three awards in the categories of "Universities - Dissertations", "Universities/Universities of Applied Sciences - Diploma/Master's Theses", and "HTL Final Papers". DI Dr. Thomas Bergmayr, a mechatronics engineer, faced stiff academic competition in the dissertation category but came out on top. As part of his dissertation, he created a model capable of continually monitor aircraft structures during flight and predicting a component's structural integrity, thereby detecting any damage at an early stage. The award is accompanied with € 6,000 in prize money.