Six Good Reasons to Participate in the KIT Innovation Contest

1. The application is uncomplicated

The hardest part about submitting to the contest is keeping it short. A maximum of 4,ooo characters and two images are available in the application form to present the brilliant idea to the jury. However, this also means that those who manage to formulate the core and advantages of their technology precisely and succinctly will be finished really quickly. Send the form to Innovation Manager Dr. Rainer Körber - done!

2. The jury comes from the companies

Anyone thinking about transfer needs feedback and impulses from the industry on the potential of their technology. The jury of the innovation competition is made up exclusively of company representatives, who perform this task in a committed and honorary capacity. The forwarding of applications as well as the jury meeting and further voting are organized by the Technology Transfer Team at IRM, but only the jury is entitled to vote.

3. Winning pays off several times

On the one hand, the first three places are awarded cash prizes. In previous years, the sponsors of the competition have contributed 3,000 euros for first place, 1,000 euros for second place and 500 euros for third place, all of which flow directly into the winners' accounts.

On the other hand, the award helps the team get started in the field of technology transfer and offers new perspectives and impulses for its own field of research. For example, the innovation managers of the Technology Transfer team offer the award winners further advice and support after the award ceremony, if required. This may involve, for example, the financing of prototypes, the search for industrial partners or an initial orientation for possible transfer paths.

4. The award ceremony remains exciting until the last moment

In 2020, the award ceremony unfortunately had to take place under strict conditions to the exclusion of the public. However, the award ceremony usually takes place on the stage of the NEULAND Innovation Day, which was attended by up to 800 people before the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. In 2021, the award is planned to take place at the hybrid Innovation Day on June 30 at the ZEISS Innovation Hub, with a restricted audience*. The winners will not only be able to meet the jury and the sponsors of the competition, KIT's Vice President for Innovation and International Affairs, Prof. Thomas Hirth, and the Technology Transfer team, but will also be invited to toast their success.

*Subject to then valid regulations on meetings and contact restrictions.

5. You can gain supporters

The company jury, the sponsors, the KIT Technology Transfer Team, the spectators of the award ceremony - your research area will receive at least this much attention. In addition, we report on the winning technologies not only in the review of the award ceremony, but also publish them on the RESEARCH TO BUSINESS technology exchange and support you in publicizing the research field in various media, at events, and in social media.

6. Best case: transfer award

Anyone who has a really good idea and turns it into a cooperative venture after the Innovation Contest can, in the best case scenario, also win the second contest category, the Transfer Award, at some point: This is awarded to particularly successful transfer projects with an industrial partner. These also started as an idea!

Perhaps you know one of the winners of the eight previous rounds of the competition and can ask them if there are any other good reasons? For example, Dr. Michael Heidinger (pictured below), who has participated in the Innovation Contest several times: "Research should not be an end in itself, but should ensure that our lives are improved. Technology transfer offers a way to make this improvement available to society. In this way, scientists can do their part to make products more efficient, durable and sustainable. With the Innovation Awards, these efforts are honored by KIT."

You still have until March 31, 2021 to submit your application. As every year, the Technology Transfer team and the jury are looking forward to your creative ideas!