Innovation Award 2023 – win DKK 50,000

About the Innovation Award 2023

• Background

  Innovation is crucial for the sustainable development of society.

  VIA University College is organising the Innovation Award for the tenth time, supporting young talent in innovative processes and the realisation of innovative ideas that contribute to the development of society in a sustainable way.

  “Innovation is one of the most important tools to possess as a student in contemporary society. This is because we are in a society where things are moving very rapidly and there is a constant need for new solutions to old-fashioned challenges.”

  Rene Dybdal, founder of the Innovation Award

  The Innovation Award 2023 is organised in collaboration with CONNECT Denmark and Pitcherific.

• Sustainable development 

  Innovation is the means to sustainable development, and talented students are the bearers of sustainable solutions of the future. Therefore, as a participant in the Innovation Award, you must explain how your innovative idea contributes to sustainable development.

  When assessing applications, the judges focus on whether and how you contribute to sustainable development. If you need inspiration for thinking more broadly about sustainability, you can take advantage of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The sustainable development goals can, in many ways, concretise how sustainable development can unfold in practice in different areas.

  To enter the competition, you must have an innovative idea for a product or service that you have spotted a need for and that contributes to the sustainable development of the world. You need to make clear how exactly your project idea can solve or prevent challenges and enable progress for the benefit of society. At the same time, you need to consider what would happen if your idea was not realised. Describe, unfold and visualise it in a video.

  
  

• Prizes

  Win DKK 50,000, DKK 20,000, DKK 10,000 or DKK 5,000

  This year the final projects will be judged by both a qualified jury and the audience.

  Prizes

  Prizes will be awarded by the jury on the day of the final, where you could win:

  1st Prize receives DKK 50,000

  2nd Prize receives DKK 20,000

  3rd Prize receives DKK 10,000

  Please be aware that if you are the lucky winner of a cash prize, the prize is taxable.

  Audience Award

  Before the final, everyone will be able to cast their vote online.

  The Audience Award this year consists of DKK 5,000 and 3 months’ access to Pitcherific’s online tools.

• Application

  Assignment

  To participate you need an innovative idea for a product or solution that benefits society and contributes to sustainable development.

  Explain how your idea can help solve or prevent challenges and help create a better and more sustainable world. You can find inspiration in the challenges you have experienced in your studies, internships or in everyday life.

  All students from Denmark’s higher education programmes are eligible to participate in the Innovation Award 2023. If you graduated or graduate in the period from 1. june 2022 up to and including 13. April 2023, you are also welcome to participate in the competition.

  Having a fully developed idea is not a prerequisite for participating in the competition. Advice, brainstorming, feedback on and developing your idea is an integral part of the competition, should you be selected as one of the 20 semi-finalists.

  You can apply in Danish or English.

  Application

  You can apply from 2. January 2023 to the 13 February 2023.

  On 2 January, a link will open where you need to fill out the information and upload the application material.

  The link will appear below from 2 January:

  Application form

  Your application must consist of the following:

  1. A short description of your project idea (max. 2,000 characters). Describe, for example, what the idea consists of, who it relates to, what challenges it can solve and what funding is needed to realise it.
     It is important that you also describe how your idea contributes to sustainable development, as well as what would happen if your idea was not realised.
  2. A video presentation of your project idea (max. 2 min.), where you briefly illustrate the idea’s concept, and present how it meets future challenges and how it can be realised.

  Remember

  With your application, you commit yourself to being able to participate in peer-to-peer brainstorming and feedback, a pitch workshop and the final, if you advance in the competition. Dates and venues can be seen under the tab “important dates”.

  You name, education, project title and contact information must appear on all material.

• Evaluation criteria

  Criteria for the selection of semi-finalists and finalists

  Your project will be judged by a jury with in-depth knowledge of innovative ideas. The evaluation of individual project ideas will be based on the following 3 criteria, all of which are equally weighted:

  1. The degree of innovation – that is, whether the idea invents or rethinks, e.g., a product, a process, a service or a solution for the benefit of society
  2. How the idea relates to supporting the sustainable development of society/the world
  3. Realisability

• Jury

  For the final, all 10 finalists will be assessed by a competent jury, who together will select the winning ideas. The jury consists of: Update coming.

• Important dates

  The Innovation Award focuses on the degree of originality and realisability. Thus, the 20 best projects will be offered peer-to-peer brainstorming and feedback facilitated by professional process consultants. It will also be possible to receive feedback from the consultant in order to further develop the idea before the 10 finalists are selected by a jury. This will be online.

  After selection, the 10 finalists will participate in a workshop at VIA Campus C, Aarhus, facilitated by Pitcherific and CONNECT Denmark, in order to optimise their business concept and their pitch on the final day.

  The final itself takes place at VIA Campus C in Aarhus.

  Remember, as a participant, you commit yourself to participating in these events.

  2 January: sign-up opens

  13 February at 23:59: deadline for sign-up

  17 February: 20 semi-finalists are announced. Semi-finalists are contacted directly.

  23 February: online peer-to-peer discussion and brainstorming with two or three other participates and a facilitator. The exact time and date will be announced in conjunction with the announcement of the semi-finalists.

  23 February to 13 March: the semi-finalists have the opportunity to further develop their ideas.

  13 March at 23:59 at the latest: the 20 semi-finalists upload a revised description and video of their idea.

  23 March: the 10 finalists are announced on VIA’s and the Innovation Award’s websites, LinkedIn and Facebook.

  23 March to 12 April: online voting for the Audience Aware opens

  30 March: the 10 finalists participate in a pitch workshop with Pitcherific and CONNECT Denmark at VIA University College, VIA Campus C Aarhus.

  13 April: Final at VIA University College, Campus Horsens.

• Language

  Danish is not a criterion for participating in the Innovation Award. We adapt all communication and language so that English speakers can also participate.

  You choose whether you want to send your application in English or Danish.

  You can participate in P2P advice and feedback in Danish and English. This means that as a Danish-speaking participant, you can potentially expect to participate in and receive feedback in English. Of course, we strive to ensure that everyone can participate in the advice and feedback in the language they would like.

  Should any of the top 10 participants do not speak Danish, the pitch training workshop will be held in English. The second half of the workshop will be tailored to the individual group and the language in which they will make their pitch.

  The final will be in Danish, but you will receive feedback in the language in which you pitch.

• Criteria and obligations

  A requirement for participation in the competition is that everyone, whether participating as an individual or as a member of a group, must be enrolled in a higher education programme in Denmark or have graduated in the period from 1 juni 2022 – 13 april 2023. Where doubt is cast on such, you may be asked to present documentation. If such documentation is not submitted, your application may be rejected.

  It is permitted to participate with more than one project idea.

  Projects previously submitted to the Innovation Award will not automatically proceed.

  Any and all contributions to the development of aspects of the project made by people other than those in the group of participants must be accredited for their contribution. Reference is made here to crediting according to good scientific practice.

  Should a suspicion of plagiarism arise in a project, an investigation will be carried out. If the investigation cannot be completed before the next deadline, the project can be rejected without further ado.

  If there is a suspicion of plagiarism, the team behind the Innovation Award 2023 reserves the right to request written consent from contributors stating that the group of participants may participate in the Innovation Award 2023. Thus, it is the responsibility of the participants to repudiate any suspicions of plagiarism.

  The committee evaluating the ideas will be made aware of any plagiarism cases.

  As a participant in the Innovation Award 2023, you commit to being available and present for interviews and photos with the external press as well as VIA’s Communications Department. Should your project be nominated, VIA University College reserves the right to use your project idea as marketing material in print and electronic media, for both internal and external use.

  In the event of you being selected as one of the 20 semi-finalists, you are obliged to participate in 1-2 hours of peer-to-peer brainstorming and feedback, facilitated by a professional consultant.

  In the event of you being selected as one of the 10 finalists, you are obliged to participate in a workshop on 30 March 2023 at VIA Campus C Aarhus and present your idea at the final event on 13 April 2023, also at VIA University College, Campus C Aarhus.

• Questions

  You are always welcome to contact us should you have any questions.

  If you have any questions about the competition, you are welcome to write to us at innovationsprisen@via.dk.

  You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.