EIT ICT Labs Idea Challenge teams up with Silicon Allee

Berlin, March 29, 2014: Silicon Allee, Germany's biggest and best tech community and news site, has teamed up with EIT ICT Labs to help promote the Idea Challenge, a pan-European drive to encourage entrepreneurship. The contest, which was launched at the CeBIT trade fair in Hannover earlier in March, is looking for cutting-edge ideas from young innovators and early-stage startups. The Idea Challenge will encompass 8 different topic areas related to parts of ICT that need to be addressed across 8 cities where EIT ICT Labs is represented. Ultimately, the contest is aimed at breaking down barriers to innovation which currently exist in Europe. Silicon Allee will help EIT ICT Labs to ensure the Idea Challenge has the maximum possible impact, spreading the word and reaching out to potential applicants.

Nadahl Shocair, Publisher of Silicon Allee, said: “We at Silicon Allee are thrilled to see such a challenge evolve and we will propagate it alongside EIT ICT Labs throughout the communities to encourage and support participation. We will be also reporting on the challenge as it evolves throughout 2014 as it is our opinion that the winners of those eight topics when funded, supported, propagated and promoted could have a tremendous positive impact on humanity as a whole. We are excited to partner with EIT ICT Labs.”

Dr. Udo Bub, Managing Director of EIT ICT Labs Germany, said: “EIT ICT Labs aims at bringing ICT innovation to impact. In our Berlin operations we take care to cover the whole innovation value chain from strategy to implementation, including transfer to business. Conceptualizing and running innovation contests is one part of this value chain we apply – here in Germany but also all over Europe. Berlin has one of the most exciting startup communities in Europe – that’s why EIT ICT Labs Germany plays an essential role in rolling out international projects like EIT ICT Labs Idea Challenge. With the EIT ICT Labs Idea Challenge and strong international partners like Silicon Allee we want to activate all startups to take an active part in shaping the ICT world in Europe.”

In Germany EIT ICT Labs is headquartered in its Co-Location Center in Berlin, operates an Associate Node in Munich and is closely working with core partners such as SAP, Siemens, Fraunhofer ICT, and the Technical University of Berlin.The Idea Challenge is one of many activities initiated by EIT ICT Labs to foster entrepreneurship and help startups to grow into future world leaders. Innovation is one of the key drivers to expand Europe’s position as leader in information and communication technologies.

This challenge enables EIT ICT Labs to contribute strongly to the objectives set out in Horizon 2020 – a flagship initiative by the European Commission aimed at enhancing Europe's global competitiveness. You can find more information about the Idea Challenge here