Europe is kicking with IT innovations and startup ideas
790 idea proposals were submitted to the international startup contest, which was divided in two submission phases. Teams and individuals with the drive to found a business were called to submit ideas that are related to the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) of tomorrow in order to drive economic growth and quality of live in Europe.
In the first wave from March to April, 311 applications were submitted. 479 ideas were now submitted in the second phase, a 54 percent rise. The applicants have a chance to win up to 40,000 Euro, office space and mentoring support from the EIT ICT Labs Business Development Accelerator. Additionally, the winners get access to a network of investors, venture capitalists and to worldwide leading IT companies.
“EIT ICT Labs mission is to bring innovation to life. The Idea Challenge is very important to us, because it helps us finding these innovations across Europe” explains Willem Jonker, CEO of EIT ICT Labs. “The Idea Challenge is really about scouting technologies, ideas, opportunities and make sure they make it to the market”.
An expert jury consisting of industry experts, investors, entrepreneurs and business accelerators currently reviews the entries to select the most innovative ideas for the finals. Between eight and twelve teams per category will be invited to pitch their ideas depending on the topic in Berlin (October 31st), Trento, Stockholm (both November 13th) and London (November 20th). At these events, twelve winners will be selected – three in each category.
In the first phase the innovators could hand in their ideas in the innovation areas Health & Wellbeing, Cyber Physical Systems, Smart Spaces, and Future Cloud. The second submission phase was open from September 1st to 30th and focused on the topics Smart Energy Systems, Cyber Security & Privacy, Internet of Things, and Urban Life & Mobility.
Check out the Idea Challenge at https://ideachallenge.eitictlabs.eu
Visit the EIT ICT Labs at www.eitictlabs.eu
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
