EIT ICT Labs launches pan-European IDEA CHALLENGE contest to drive entrepreneurship

24 early stage start-ups all over Europe have the chance to become part of the pan-European ecosystem of EIT ICT Labs and get their businesses up and running. By launching the Idea Challenge, EIT ICT Labs underlines the aim to fostering young entrepreneurial talents and spur ICT innovation for economic growth.

EIT ICT Labs calls young innovators with the drive to start a new business and early stage start-ups to submit their cutting edge ideas. Successful participants not only win up to 40,000 Euro cash; victory also means office space for six months, and coaching and mentoring from experts of the EIT ICT Labs Business Development Accelerator. In addition, prize winners will become part of the unique European innovation ecosystem of EIT ICT Labs that provides access to a network of investors and venture capitalists as well as to the European market through worldwide leading companies.

8 topics, 8 cities, one challenge

The idea challenge is a European contest and will be kicked off in eight European cities where EIT ICT Labs are represented through Co-location Centres: London, Eindhoven, Rennes, Trento, Berlin, Munich, Helsinki and Stockholm. At the same time, each of these cities has a dedicated topic that needs to be addressed in the idea proposals. The topics cover the eight most important trends in ICT: Health & Wellbeing, Smart Spaces, Cyber-Physical Systems, Future Cloud, Cyber Security and Privacy, Internet of Things, Urban Life and Mobility or Smart Energy Systems. Yet, what unifies each category is the passion for innovation.

Submission phase is open

Applicants from all over Europe can submit their proposals online through the competition website from March 11th to April 20th for the topics Health & Wellbeing, Smart Spaces, Cyber-Physical Systems, and Future Cloud. Ideas that address Cyber Security and Privacy, Internet of Things, Urban Life and Mobility can be submitted from September 1st to September 30th. The rights to designs and creations from the teams will belong to their developers, giving them the opportunity to decide what they want to do in order to progress their ideas.

Time for action! Information and submission at www.ideachallenge.eitictlabs.eu