Why submit ideas to an innovation competition?
The organiser of the Copernicus Masters competition, AZO Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen, are on the hunt for outstanding ideas, applications, and business concepts – focusing on ideas for commercial use of Earth observation (EO) data.
Besides of gaining knowledge, glory and experience, they found seven more reasons for your participation in interesting competitions such as the Copernicus Masters:
- Create Awareness for Your Idea
Many people have forward-thinking ideas that could potentially benefit business and society. In order to actually initiate turning a specific idea into reality, it is crucial to raise awareness and spread the word. This is exactly the point in time in which innovation competitions come into play. As soon as like-minded people, experts, various industry stakeholders and other entrepreneurs come together within an innovation competition, the creative environment is set up to facilitate the development of pioneering ideas.
- Sharpen Your Sales Pitch
Having a great idea is the initial step on the road to success. The following step is very important to actually make it happen. The way you represent and sell your business idea is pathbreaking for the further development. Innovation competitions are the best way to scrutinise your idea and receive valuable feedback to improve it. As the expert jury consists of your target group in general, these competitions offer you the chance to enhance your pitch skills effectively.
- Prizes Can Boost Your Business Case
Rewards always feel good. Especially in the context of the assessment of one’s business idea, competing with other innovative people and taking the victory of such a competition gives the winners a true boost. This boost is not only limited to cash prizes, it pushes your business development, as success stories are intriguing to various target groups.
- Expert Advice from Stakeholders and Proof of Concept
Feedback always helps to improve a submission and evaluate your business case in different perspectives. The jury of the Copernicus Masters comprises respected experts and luminaries who have the adequate background to assess your idea appropriately and advise how to enhance your business case to make it a future high-flyer. Today, several former winners have become players within the European EO community themselves, as the Copernicus Masters helped them to have a proof of concept. The expert feedback reassures the participants’ business concept and their performance.
- Unique Networking Opportunity
The Copernicus Masters is the leading innovation platform for commercial EO applications. After receiving more than 900 submissions from nearly 60 countries, AZO has selected and rewarded 55 winners over the past six years. These services offer an exciting glimpse into the future of Copernicus services along the entire value chain and affirm the growing importance of Earth observation in virtually every sphere of our daily lives. Throughout the last years, the competition has provided Europe with ground-breaking innovations and has established a huge network consisting of industry stakeholders, more than 100 experts and institutions in EO related fields as well as creative entrepreneurs.
- Prizes and Promotion for Your EO-based Idea
You have the chance to enter the incubation programme of one of Europe’s 16 ESA Business Incubation Centres (BICs) are awaiting your pioneering idea. Spread the word about yourself and your idea on an international platform, to boost your business to a bright future and take your share of the highest valued Copernicus Masters prize pool ever!
- Customised Business Development
Become the next high-flying entrepreneur and take the world by storm with the Copernicus Accelerator! Since 2016, the Copernicus Masters competition enriches its content with an exciting feature, the Copernicus Accelerator. This unique initiative funded by the European Commission provides a customised business development scheme for the winners and finalists of each Copernicus Masters Challenge. It aims at supporting the best 50 entrants to move beyond idea conception into real commercial ventures. Within nine months, Copernicus Accelerator mentees can benefit from an individual coaching support worth an additional overall value of EUR 250,000.
Get inspired by prime examples of former Copernicus Masters winners who show why it is worth to submit your idea to the Copernicus Masters platform and grow it into a business case.
Winning is an amazing experience. Copernicus Masters.
Take your chance to write your own chapter of the Copernicus Masters success story.
