Attention students, recent (and not so recent) graduates, and researchers! If you thought you’d never look at your dissertation again, you were most probably wrong. Last week INiTS, Vienna’s university business incubator, announced that it’s looking to award the INiTS Award 2013 to the best ideas and projects in five different categories. The deadline for submissions has been extended from the end of July to 19 August.
You’ve already done all the research, and invested countless hours in putting it together. And what’s more, you probably wouldn’t have done that with a concept you didn’t believe in to start with. Just in case, though, that’s where INiTS steps in. “Students, graduates, and researchers are not always aware of the potential of their work… INiTS aims to change that, and help them make the transition from research to a product,” read the official press release.
The award
This year, the INiTS Award will go out to a total of 15 applicants in three main categories: IT and Communications, Life Sciences, and Other Technologies, with two special awards – “green tech” and the “woman award”. The “green tech” category will be accepting submissions that deal with innovative environmental technologies, while the “woman award” category will be looking for projects developed and executed by a female, or a team of females. (Read more about state support for women entrepreneurs in our previous feature). INiTS has allocated a total of 22,500 euros for the Award 2013, with 4,500 euros for eachcategory. The five projects in first place will receive 2,000 euros, the ones in second – 1,500 euros, and the projects in third will be awarded 1,000 each.
The application
In order to apply, you first need to submit a paper of no more than two pages that summarises your business idea, your customer and market base, and the implementation process, among others. You’ll also need to upload your academic work on the INiTS server. The application window is open to Bachelor-, Master-, and Ph.D. students and researchers – for more information, consult the official webpage. The deadline for submissions is 19 August; the winners will be announced later (in either October or November) this year.
Some success stories
Since its launch in 2002, INiTS has supported more than 100 startups in the three main fields mentioned above. (A quick overview of the companies and their activities is available here). The most recent of these are Vienna-based indoo.rs and Dynamic Perspective, who secured investment deals earlier this year, and in a period of less than six months after getting in touch with the business incubator. In January, indoo.rs received a six-figure investment in a seed round from Austrian SpeedInvest, Tecnet Equity, and “strategic investor” Techinvest. (Read our news coverage here and our profile on the team here). Dynamic Perspective, on the other hand, secured their investment in February, but the investors – the company was able to choose among four – and the amount of the funding were not disclosed.
So on that note, it’s quite safe to say that the INiTS Award 2013 may be just the step you need. Get your papers together, and apply now!
