The Siemens Foundation (Siemens Stiftung) has introduced a global competition for technology solutions that address challenges in areas such as water, waste, energy, food and healthcare.
The 'empowering people' award was unveiled at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), taking place this week, and invites innovators and developer teams to submit tech products or solutions that help combat basic supply problems.
Entries will be made available to practitioners on a central database, so more people can get involved in improving social and economic environments. Entries can be filed under the following categories: water and waste water, energy, food and agriculture, waste management and recycling, housing and construction, healthcare, and ICT.
The entries will be evaluated by an interdisciplinary and international jury, and the winner will be awarded at a ceremony in June 2013, with a sum of EUR50 000. The second prize is valued at EUR30 000, and the third at EUR20 000, while a further EUR5 000 will be awarded to 20 runners-up. All the intellectual property will remain with the inventor or team.
Participants' submissions will form part of a broader knowledge database, which aims to showcase research possibilities and generate interaction between the public and private sectors, as well as academia, developers and practitioners. It will also help entrants and their projects gain exposure to international partners and investors. According to the Siemens Foundation, the platform serves to link people to achieve collaborative success in development ventures - one of the Foundation's stated goals.
Siemens Stiftung MD Ulrike Wahl said in a release: “As a foundation active in projects extending basic services to those in need, we are convinced that technological solutions are a key lever to sustainable development.
“The database we want to build is geared equally to bringing inventors in touch with organisations funding their ideas, as well as empowering inventors and practitioners to link up directly, and thus speed up processes to tackle basic supply challenges.”
The deadline for entries is 31 December at 12am EST.
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