EU Prize for Women Innovators 2018 (€ 100,000)

The European Commission has launched the fifth edition of the EU Women Innovators Prize. Deadline for applications is November 15, 2017. The prize is meant to reward women who have achieved outstanding innovations and brought them to market. The EC will award up to three EU Prizes for Women Innovators and a Rising Innovator Award for young innovators under the age of 30 at the start of their careers.

The prizes are as follows:

• First Prize € 100,000;
• Second Prize € 50,000;
• Third Prize € 30,000;
• Rising Innovators € 20,000.

Europe urgently needs more innovators to stay competitive in the coming decades and to spur economic growth. The large number of well-educated women who, for various reasons, including lack of awareness, do not consider entrepreneurship as an option, represents a tremendous untapped pool of innovation.

Awards have a strong potential to drive innovation through the recognition of achievements and the promotion of role models. Therefore, the EC created in 2011 a Prize for Women Innovators to increase public awareness of this issue and to encourage women to exploit the commercial and business opportunities and become entrepreneurs.

After the success of the forerunners of the contest in 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2017 the Commission intends to continue its drive to spotlight women researchers who have brought outstanding innovations to the market. The prizes are addressed to women who
have founded or co-founded a company and who themselves or their company have benefited from funding related to research and/or innovation. The prizes will not reward innovation proposed for the future, but outstanding achievements that have been already accomplished by the participant.