European Union Women Innovators Prize 2014

After a successful first edition in 2011, the European Commission has launched the second edition of the EU Women Innovators Prize to reward three women who have achieved outstanding innovations and brought them to market.

The contest is open to all women who have founded or co-founded their company and who have at some point of their careers benefitted from the EU's research framework programmes or the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme.

In total three prizes will be awarded:

Who can apply?

Download the contest details   462 KB to get more information on the eligibility and evaluation criteria. The following conditions need to be fulfilled:

1. The contestant must be a woman.
2. The contestant must be a resident of an EU Member State or a Countries Associated to the Research Framework Programmes
3. The contestant must be the founder or co-founder of an existing and active company.
4. The company has been registered before 1 January 2011.
5. The annual turnover of the company was at least EUR 0.10 million in 2011 or 2012.
6. Either the contestant as a natural person or the company founded/co-founded by the contestant have received or is receiving funding from the European Union or the European Atomic Energy Community Research Framework Programme, or from the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP).

How to apply?

The deadline for application is 15 October 2013, 5:00 p.m. (Brussels time).

You can submit your application here.

Why the EU has launched this Prize?

Although women are more and more active in research, there are still too few women creating innovative enterprises. This represents an untapped potential for Europe which needs all its human resources to remain competitive and find solutions to the great challenges that we are facing (such as climate change, energy and resource efficiency, health etc).

Europe needs more women innovators who can act as role models for the next generation.

Find out more on the 1st edition of the contest

You can read more about the winners of the 2011 competition in this leaflet   609 KB

Watch the videos of the winners of the EU Prize for Women Innovators 2011 on the Innovation Union YouTube channel.

Contact

E-mail us at: rtd-women-innovators@ec.europa.eu

Source: ec.europa.eu