Gender balanced judging panel appointed to discover Stockholm’s next unicorn

The application period for Stockholm Innovation Scholarship is now open and we are proud to present the judges who have the task of identifying the best innovations. Consisting of 27 renowned experts from Stockholm's business and innovation ecosystem, the gender balanced judging panel will identify which innovations have the potential to become Stockholm’s future growth companies.

Stockholm Innovation Scholarship’s judges are handpicked for their expertise and industry experience within the respective scholarship categories. The new judges for this year are:

Henrik Grim, Northzone, Kristoffer Svedulf, Playful and Patrik Lindström, Start-Up Stockholm in the category "Simplify everyday life"; Tobias Degsell, Combiner, Sara Herrlin, STHLM Music City, and Annika Lidne, Dramatify, in the category "Creative Industries"; Andy Johnston, MOOR, Lillian Wikström, KI Innovations, and Ylva Williams, Stockholm Science City, in the category "Life science and health" and Frida Siwe, Norrsken Foundation, in the category "Social and Ecological Sustainability". A complete list of judges in each scholarship category can be found on the website for the Stockholm Innovation Scholarship.

New this year is that all applications are anonymous in the first screening round. In the next step, the judges will review the entire submission, including a short pitch video. If selected after step two, innovators will be called to a pitching session, much like the Dragon’s Den, where they get the chance to present their innovation and their plan to commercialize it. The judging panel is responsible for assessing contributions based on Stockholm's values of social, ecological, economic and democratic sustainability as guidance.

Thomas Johansson, Design Director of Electrolux and judge in the category "Simplify everyday life" explains why he accepted the mission to participate in the panel:
"Innovations and new solutions are key to a bright future, and it is important to participate in and influence society's development.”

Sara Herrlin, founder and CEO of Sthlm Music City, and new judge in the category ”Creative industries” describes what she looks most forward to:
”Meeting my amazing fellow judges and, along with them, review all the exciting applications for the scholarship.”

Sweden is ranked as the most innovative country in the world after Switzerland and Stockholm has a reputation of being a "unicorn factory", producing the highest number of billion dollar companies per capita worldwide, second only to Silicon Valley.

"The fact that we are so strong at innovation in Stockholm makes the judges’ work particularly exciting. Chances are that Stockholm's future unicorn will be in front of the judging panel, pitching a billion dollar business idea,” says Kerstin von Bergen, project manager for Stockholm Innovation Scholarship at Invest Stockholm.

The application period is open until October 12, 2017. Winners will be announced at Stockholm City Hall on November 27 by Karin Wanngård, the Mayor of Stockholm.

For more information, visit www.innovationsstipendiet.se.

Contact
Kerstin von Bergen, project manager, Stockholm Innovation Scholarship, Invest Stockholm, kerstin.von.bergen@stockholm.se, +46 (0) 70 47 280 54

Stockholms Innovation Scholarship’s judges 2017
On the photo from the left: Donnie S C Lygonis, Svetlana Gross, Magnus Rehn, Elin Hedbrandh, Frida Siwe, Christina Bendz, Stina Algotson, Lotta Ahlvar, Ninna Engberg, Henrik Grim, Beata Mannheimer, Anders Johansson, Lilian Wikström, Ylva Ryngebo, Thomas Johansson, Amir Sajadi, Patrik Lindström, Tobias Degsell. Absent when photo was taken: Per Frankelius, Amanda Hasselström, Sara Herrlin, Andy Johnston, Annika Lidne, Niklas Rudemo, Caroline Strand, Johan Strandberg, Per Strömbäck, Kristoffer Svedulf and Ylva Williams.

About the Stockholm Innovation Scholarship
Stockholm Innovation Scholarship is presented in five categories: Simplify Everyday Life; Creative Industries; Life Sciences and Health; Travel and Tourism; and Social Impact and Sustainability. To be eligible for a scholarship, applicants must reside, work or study in Stockholm County. Each winner will receive a SEK 100,000 scholarship as well as qualified coaching. The scholarships will be presented by Mayor of Stockholm Karin Wanngård at a ceremony at Stockholm City Hall on November 27. The scholarship is run by Invest Stockholm, with funds from the City of Stockholm and from Stiftelsen Agne Johansson Minnesfond.