EIT ICT Labs will offer the opportunity for 24 early stage start-ups all over Europe to become part of the pan-European ecosystem of and get their businesses up and running. Successful participants will be awarded with 40,000 Euro cash, office space for six months, and coaching and mentoring from experts of the EIT ICT Labs Business Development Accelerator. Prize winners will become part of the unique European innovation ecosystem of EIT ICT Labs that provides access to a network of investors and venture capitalists as well as to the European market through worldwide leading companies.

The European contest will be kicked off in eight European cities: London, Eindhoven, Rennes, Trento, Berlin, Munich, Helsinki and Stockholm. Each of these cities has a dedicated topic that needs to be addressed: Health & Wellbeing, Smart Spaces, Cyber-Physical Systems, Future Cloud, Cyber Security and Privacy, Internet of Things, Urban Life and Mobility or Smart Energy Systems. Yet, what unifies each category is the passion for innovation.

Applicants from all over Europe can submit their proposals online through the competition website. The rights to designs and creations from the teams will belong to their developers, giving them the opportunity to decide what they want to do in order to progress their ideas.