NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
- Just under a month left for university students to submit entries online to European-wide Intel entrepreneurship competition.
- Winners to participate in Intel® Global Challenge @ UC Berkeley.
- $100,000 in prize money up for grabs along with mentoring from entrepreneurial leaders throughout the competition.
The Intel Challenge Europe is a business plan competition for university students and is organized in collaboration with educational institutions and entrepreneurship organizations across Europe. Its goal is to build up the next generation of entrepreneurs and feed the innovation society by helping to instil interest and development of technological projects with strong business and commercialization potential. By advancing technology entrepreneurship, Intel Challenge Europe can support projects that create value-added production chains, employment and innovation-fuelled economic growth.
The entries from the first round of the competition will be shortlisted further in two rounds of business plan submissions and presentations, capping off with a regional face-to-face final in Sopot, Poland on 26-28 September 2011. During the regional finals, two teams each from Western Europe and Eastern Europe will be selected. The Intel Challenge Europe finals will be held in conjunction with the European New Ideas Forum. The Forum is an avenue for discussions among business communities from the European Union, with a view to seeking and promoting new solutions for the pressing economic and civilization issues facing Europe and the world.
The four winners of the regional finals will be invited to participate in the Intel® Global Challenge @ UC Berkeley in November this year. Participants will compete for $100,000 in prize money, and will receive mentoring throughout the competition from leaders in the entrepreneurial communities in Europe and Silicon Valley.
“Some of the best innovation ideas come from creative young minds. By helping students develop these ideas and turn them into real business value, they will have the opportunity to have a positive impact on society. The young generation’s ideas will lead to the creation of new businesses that create new jobs, stimulate economic growth and raise standards of living," said Christian Morales, Vice President and General Manager, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Intel Corporation.
Business plan proposals must be based on a novel technology invention, demonstrate market need and ideally, scale to global demand. They should be directed to the development of technologies that may include, but are not limited to, the areas of wireless computing, digital home, enterprise and consumer software, energy, nanotechnology, semiconductors, digital health and biotechnology. The new venture must not have received any venture capital funding and can have only up to $250,000 investment. For more details on participation requirements, go to: http://www.intelchallenge.eu/howtowin/
Entries will be evaluated in each country by highly qualified judges in various fields, including academia, venture capital and investment, entrepreneurship, and technology. To be successful, entries must – among other things – comprise a technological innovation with a clear value proposition, cover a potentially interesting market, hold a solid business plan, and be presented clearly and precisely.
The Intel Business Plan competition for university students was founded in Eastern Europe in 2004 and is today available to students across Europe, Turkey and Israel. More information on Intel in education and entrepreneurship is available at http://www.intel.com/about/corporateresponsibility/education/index.htm.
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.
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