Application Deadline: March 30th 2018
Valeo launches its 5th Innovation Challenge, offering students and their academic teachers the opportunity to become players in automotive innovation. Valeo wishes to encourage students from all over the world to innovate and to develop their entrepreneurial spirit, offering the winners the opportunity to create their own start-ups.
The aim is to reward an innovative project, whether it is a technological innovation or an idea for new ways to use cars. The participants will have to propose new solutions in one of the following categories:
Requirements:
- The competition is open to post-baccalaureate students worldwide in higher education from all disciplines and to the teachers, one per team.
- The contest is open to students worldwide who have completed their high school education, from any discipline, and to teachers (maximum of one teacher per team), with one entry per person (with same name and same email address).
- Participants must be able to travel outside their country of residence and possess, by October 2018, a passport that is still valid for six months after the date scheduled for awarding the prizes (October 2018).
- Entrants must compete in teams made up of between two and a maximum of five people.
Teams can take part to the challenge by presenting a relevant, innovative project in English by submitting:
1. mp4 video pitch (maximum 3 minutes) that explains the project in a clear, simple and audible way,
2. accompanied by 5 slides describing the composition of the team; the problem identified; the existing or known solutions; the proposed technical solution; the target market and the business model.
The selection criteria for the projects are:
- Bold, innovative and original idea of the project
- Challenges and relevance of the problem addressed and how the expectations of automakers, end-users and society have been factored in
- Project quality with a view to creating a start-up:
– Project feasibility
– Structured business model
At the end of the competition, the sum of €200,000 will be shared, as decided by the jury, between the winning team of the Challenge and two second-place winners, in accordance with the provisions of Article 8.
First Stage: Registration & Ideation
From November 15, 2017 to March 30, 2018 at noon (Central European Time +1)
Students are invited to create an account on the platform and participate to the challenge by forming a team of two to five people maximum. Next, present your team idea in a mp4 video pitch (maximum 3 minutes) accompanied by 5 slide describing the composition of the team; the problem identified; the existing or known solutions; the proposed technical solution; the target market and the business model. You can download a template here!
Second Stage: Project accelerations
From June 16, 2018 to September 28, 2018 at midnight (Central European Time +1)
The 9 selected teams will have 8 weeks to work on their projects (file and proof of concept). They will have the support of Valeo and recognized for their experience and professional expertise, like scientists, designers, sociologists and architects
Third Stage: Final Pitch & Awards October 12, 2018
On October 12th, all finalist teams will have 3 minutes to pitch their project, followed by a 2 minute Q&A session with judges.
The judges will select the 3 winning teams!