Funding and advice available for student entrepreneurs

Applications are invited for the ninth Innovation Campus Awards, a competition providing opportunities for young entrepreneurs and students from across Europe to develop their ideas and inventions.

Formerly known as the European Hopefuls for Innovation, the competition now named Innovact Campus Awards is organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Reims-Epernay and supported by the European Commission.

Students, young researchers and entrepreneurs from all over Europe are invited to apply as individuals or as teams from now until January 24, 2011. Innovact Campus Awards 2011 is open to all students and young European researchers currently enrolled or not in a training programme. Projects will be judged on their boldness, innovation, creativity, feasibility and professionalism, and may be in the planning stages, or already launched.

Finalists who will benefit from expert advice and wide visibility in Europe, will be invited to participate for free in the 15th edition of the European Forum for Innovative Start-Ups on March 29th and 30th, 2011, in Reims. This is an opportunity to describe their projects to 2,000 professionals from 20 countries and to meet more than 200 European start-ups.

During the forum, the jury, made up of company heads, journalists and scientists from different European countries, will meet the finalists, who will present their projects. The winners will receive prizes of up to €3,000.

More than 200 applicants from across Europe took part in last year’s contest: half were French, and the other half came from 16 other countries. The projects related to sectors including sustainable development, IT and consulting services, social sciences, engineering and medicine.

How to participate in the Innovact Campus Awards 2011: Download the application form at http://www.innovact.com and return the completed form to [email protected]. The application deadline is Monday, January 24, 2011.