2006 ICT Prize kicks off in Europe

Businesses in the European Union have a chance to get their hands on a total of €700,000 (£470,000) in prize money as entry to the 2007 European ICT Prize opens.

The three grand prizes at the 2005 ICT Awards were won by companies from France, Denmark and The Netherlands which showed off DRM tracking, computer memory that can survive high temperatures, and 3D facial recognition. 

The emphasis is on products that can be marketed, and all the finalists are given access to venture capitalists.

"The European ICT Prize provides public recognition and a highly visible profile to innovative companies that convert novel ideas into marketable products," said the announcement from European Council of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering (Euro-CASE).

"The high standards of applicants, and the competitive evaluation procedure, make this prize the standard reference recognising major achievements in ICT."

Applications are open until 4 December 2006 and can be made online at the European ICT Prize website. 

The awards are open to organisations such as enterprises, laboratories or universities from the 33 European Union countries or their associated territories.

Applications are assessed by independent experts from 16 European countries, and the results of the initial evaluation will be announced in February 2007.

The 50 to 70 shortlisted nominees are then whittled down to 20 finalists, each of which will receive €5,000 (£3,350).

An executive jury composed of executives from 19 European countries then proposes the three Grand Prize winners, which receive €200,000 (£134,000) each.

The prize is organised by Euro-CASE, with the sponsorship money coming from the European Commission.

At last year's awards, Viviane Reding, EC Commissioner for Information Society and Media, warned that Europe was lagging behind when it comes to embracing information and communication technology. 

"In all major scoreboards Europe comes third after the US and Asia, not only in embracing ICT but in shaping its development and progress," she said.

See also:

EU regulators step up Intel probe

Investigation centres on AMD's claims of being 'locked out' by Intel  13 Sep 2006

EU taskforce to bolster ICT security

Ambitious project involves 200 researchers  06 Jul 2006

Gartner blasts EU roaming proposals

EU ignoring duty to sustain and foster a buoyant telecoms industry  30 Jun 2006

Europe to see 1.5m new ICT jobs by 2010

SMEs key to future growth  06 Jun 2006

EU orders battery recycling

Battery makers forced to pay for collection and recycling programmes  04 May 2006

Europe lagging behind in ICT

Not enough investment or uptake, says commissioner Viviane Reding  24 Mar 2006

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