EIT to award ideas and talent at the EIT Awards 2013

17 innovators nominated

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) today celebrates innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe with a conference that will culminate with the announcement of the winners of the EIT Awards 2013. 
For the Venture Award, which puts the spotlight on breakthrough innovations and exciting start-ups, the following eight nominees have been selected by the EIT’s Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs): Chokri Moussaoui (Eternal Sun), David Tacconi (CoReHab), Dominik Peus (Antaco), Fabio Belloni (Quuppa), Héctor Martín (Smalle Technologies), Lars Wallden (Northstar Telemetrics), Lionel Chaverot (Enerstone) and Peter Stein (GreenTEG). This award was previously known as the EIT Entrepreneurship Award and was first launched in 2012.
Nine change agents have been nominated for the EIT’s new CH.A.N.G.E (Change Agents and Next Generation Entrepreneurs) Award, which showcases the ideas of young entrepreneurs of the future that are emerging from education and training programmes at the EIT. The nine nominees for this award are David Pribil (Heart-Guard), Dorottya Maksay (Homebuddy), Eduardo Appleyard (Solar Lighting for Africa), Evan Bruner (SolarCatch), Germán Leiva (JukeBoss), Kate Hofman (GrowUp), Linkesh Diwan (Wise Earth Technology), Muhammad Rizwan Awan (Chimney Sheet) and Swati Pandey (TRA Labs).
Supporting the creation of an entrepreneurial culture in Europe is a key objective of the EIT. It means fostering a change in mindset and encouraging (calculated) risk-taking attitudes. To help realise its objective, the EIT organises an annual award competition that showcases entrepreneurial ideas and that puts the spotlight on entrepreneurial talent from its three KICs.
“Europe needs many more of the kind of brilliant entrepreneurs that have shaped our history. Innovators and entrepreneurs are important for our jobs, economies, societies and lives,” said Alexander von Gabain, Chairman of the Governing Board of the EIT. “The EIT Awards let us put the spotlight on new ideas that can become products and services, and on students and researchers that will be the entrepreneurs and innovators of tomorrow.”
Naveen Jain, Founder of the Moon Express, inome and World Innovation Institute, will inspire participants at the EIT Awards event to act on their sense of entrepreneurialism to help launch innovative solutions to the significant challenges our world faces.
“We are living in one of most innovative decades in the human history even though many will have us believe that our best days are behind us. Advances in technology will allow us to solve many of the grand challenges facing us today such as the lack of clean water, lack of affordable healthcare, obsolete education system and insufficient clean energy. We need to change our mindset from scarcity to abundance and realise that long term sustainability doesn’t come from conservation but from creation,” Jain said.
Launched in 2012, the EIT Awards highlight the ideas and start ups that are coming out of the EIT’s KICs. Every year, each of the KICs (Climate-KIC, EIT ICT Labs and KIC InnoEnergy) selects three nominees for each award category.
ABOUT THE EIT
The EIT is an EU body set up in 2008 to spur innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe. It brings together leading universities, research labs and companies to form dynamic cross-border partnerships that develop innovative products and services, start new companies, and train a new generation of entrepreneurs. The aim: to overcome some of Europe’s greatest challenges - in energy, ICT and climate change. The EIT makes innovation happen.
www.eit.europa.eu
Download the Press Release
The event will start at 09:00 CET and be streamed via the EIT website homepage (www.eit.europa.eu).