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SLU Umeå and Sparbanksstiftelsen Norrland’s Prize for Sustainable Innovations 2024

Published: 01 March 2024

The green industry is facing one of its biggest challenges yet and we believe the solution is here. Do you work at SLU Umeå and have an idea for a new product, service or method that can contribute to a more sustainable industry? Apply for the Innovation Award and you can personally win up to SEK 50,000.

Note! Download the form on your computer to fill in your information!

The innovation award

In association with Sparbanksstiftelsen Norrland, SLU Umeå awards ideas that carries the potential to change the green industry. The awards, worth a total of SEK 75,000 (one of 50,000 and two student awards of 15,000 and 10,000) are personal and awarded with the goal of contributing to an innovation-promoting culture and enable more of the university’s overall knowledge to be utilized in ground breaking innovations for both the industry and our society.

Who can apply?

Students, researchers or employees of SLU Umeå are welcome to participate, regardless of discipline. Innovations can be product-related as well as service-oriented but may not have reached commercial phase. The assessment criteria that we will base our decision are as follows:

  • Height of innovation (how pioneering is the idea and how does the innovative height compare to alternative solutions?)
  • Newsworthiness
  • Commercial potential or social benefit
  • Implementation potential (what potential there is to move the idea forward to implementation in society / industry)

If you are more than one person behind the idea, at least one of you must be a student or researcher at SLU Umeå. If others have been involved in the advent of innovation or have worked on developing it, you need to reconcile with these before applying. Our recommendation is that if there are questions regarding who should apply, please apply together as the prize is then shared between the applicants.

Read more under competition terms and conditions.

Important dates

Submission of application closes on October 16th 2024 at 5pm. 

The winner will be announced at an award ceremony at SLU in Umeå during the faculty days in November 2024.

Why an Innovation Award?

The green industry is facing one of it’s largest challenges yet. A large part of our carbon dioxide emission can be traced back to the various stages of food production and the industry needs to evolve and change - now. By being active in the issues at hand, the Swedish Agricultural University (SLU) has a key role in the solving the problem, continuously presenting new findings from research in all areas of environmental sciences.

However, as a complement to these findings, there is a need to push them even further. To implement and develop them into new businesses, to make the ideas into reality. Time is up and we are facing a new world where innovation and entrepreneurship will, inevitably, be needed to change our industry. We believe that the entrepreneurial drive of our researchers, employees and students is key to solving the problems that our industry (and planet) is facing today. And in order to meet these new challenges we need to push for new approaches, present fresh ideas and award ambition.

Competition terms and conditions:

Who can apply?

Students as well as researchers and employees at SLU Umeå are welcome to apply, regardless of discipline. Innovations can be product-related as well as service-oriented, but can’t have reached commercial stage.

You can compete as individuals or as teams, the prize money is then shared between the applicants. If there are several people behind an idea at least one of you must be a student, researcher or employee at SLU Umeå. Students must have at least 1 ECT at SLU Umeå during the academic year of the competition (2021/2022)

If you are more than one person behind the idea, at least one of you must be a student or researcher at SLU Umeå. If others have been involved in the advent of innovation or have worked on developing it, you need to reconcile with these before applying. Our recommendation is that if there are questions regarding who should apply, please apply together as the award is then shared between all applicants.

The prize

Prizes will be awarded with a total prize amount of SEK 75,000, which is distributed between one award of SEK 50,000 and two student awards of SEK 15,000 and 10,000 each. The prizes will be distributed at a ceremony during the faculty days in Umeå in November 2024.

The prize is personal and comes without the requirement for reporting back how the grant was used. However, we would like to receive a brief summary of how the prize affected the recipients ability to continue their project 12 months after they’ve received the award. The prize money is a scholarship awarded to the main applicant from Sparbanksstiftelsen Norrland and is normally not taxable. However, the recipient is responsible for making this clear with the tax authorities.

Selection criteria

SLU Umeå and Sparbanksstiftelsen Norrland’s Award for Sustainable Innovations is open to all ideas, but the sustainability aspect of the proposals will be central to the assessment. Our industry needs more innovations to reduce the impact on the environment and we hope that the award will be help accelerate this development.

We welcome project ideas that have not yet been developed into a commercial product or service. The assessment criteria that we will base our decision are as follows:

  • Height of innovation (how pioneering is the idea and how does the innovative height compare to alternative solutions?)
  • Newsworthiness
  • Commercial potential or social benefit
  • Implementation potential (what potential there is to move the idea forward to implementation in society / industry)

Secrecy

All applications for SLU Umeå and Sparbanksstiftelsen Norrland’s Award for Sustainable Innovations are treated as confidential and the innovation will remain as the applicants’ property even after the competition has been completed.

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