EU unveils Women Innovators prize ... apply now!
Women continue to prove their prowess on Europe's research scene, developing, managing and commercialising the results of myriad studies that impact sectors across the continent. Despite their successes, however, a vacuum in the development of innovative enterprises still exists. Europe, and the world at large, needs women to stay at the top of their game and lead groundbreaking studies that could potentially resolve, or at least mitigate the growing concerns for some of the planet's biggest headaches: global warming, energy and resource efficiency, transport safety and health. A strong proponent of women and their role in research and industry is the European Commission, offering diverse incentives to help further their involvement in science, research and industry. The latest initiative for encouraging and fuelling the participation of women in innovative enterprises is the European Union Women Innovators prize. Three women innovators, who have seen the fruits of their labour go to market, will be rewarded for their hard work and success. The EU Women Innovators prize will bolster our awareness of why innovation is important, and why an increasing number of women entrepreneurs are needed in both research and industry. These women, the EU believes, could help foster innovation and entrepreneurship in other women, effectively proving that success comes in all shapes and sizes. Interested parties must meet six conditions in order to participate in the competition. The contestant must be a woman living in either a EU Member States or Associated Country to the EU's Research Framework Programme; she must be a founder or co-founder of an active company; the company must have been registered before 1 January 2009; the company should have posted a turnover of at least EUR 100,000 in 2010; the contestant must be a recipient of EU funding from either the EU Research Framework Programme or Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) - either as an individual or business founded/co-founded by the contestant (it neither matters whether she received funding in the past as a Marie Curie Fellowship nor whether she gets funded in the present as a company); and the candidate must be active in research and innovation activities, linked to the origin of the product or services, provided by the company she founded or co-founded. Those keen to take part in the contest must submit their applications by 20 September 2011 (17:00 CET) at the Women Innovators prize application site (www.ec.europa.eu/women-innovators). The winning contestants will be notified by e-mail by mid November. The prize money totals EUR 175,000, with the first prize worth EUR 100,000, second prize EUR 50,000 and third prize EUR 25,000. An independent panel of judges from academia and industry will assess and select the winning candidates. The award ceremony will take place at the Innovation Convention in Brussels, Belgium on 5 December 2011. The European Commission is the organiser of the event.For more information, please visit: EU Women Innovators prize:http://www.ec.europa.eu/women-innovatorsEU Research Framework Programme:http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html
Countries
Belgium