EU-CONEXUS Innovation Contest of Ideas
Be inspired!
Did you ever think of what it would be like to develop an innovative idea from scratch and get an idea what a start up journey would look like?
Work together in teams, supported either by professors /teachers in your courses or by our external experts.
Present your idea at the “EU-CONEXUS Innovation Contest of Ideas” in front of an international jury. Gain helpful insights from creating an idea to start a business and have the chance to win prize money to push your idea forward.
The contest is open to Bachelor students of the EU-CONEXUS universities. Teams can include members from different EU-CONEXUS partner universities, but this is not required. While ideas related to SmUCS (Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability) are particularly welcome, proposals from any innovative field are accepted.
If you are taking part in an Entrepreneurship class, you may combine the course assignment with the participation of the Innovation Contest. Being aware your ideas will probably not merge into a Start-up soon, the contest focuses on the idea and the entrepreneurial mindset.
ApplicationWhy you should participate!
Explore the possibility to advance your innovative idea and see where this journey could take you. If possible, the participation will be part of existing courses at the respective partner university. You could get support and feedback within the course work and from our innovation experts who will, additionally, offer consulting and engagement hours. On top, interactive workshops will be offered covering topics such as.
- Possible Topics:
- Intercultural communication in multinational teams
- How to pitch your idea
- How to write a business plan
Topics may change according to availability
- Create contacts with other future entrepreneurs from the EU-CONEXUS Alliance universities by networking with fellow contest participants.
- Win prize money to push your idea forward
- Gain pitching experience in front of a high-profile jury
Who can participate?
Bachelor students can enter in teams. Multinational teams, with members from different EU-CONEXUS Alliance universities, are encouraged but not required.
Category: Bachelor Students
Bachelor students enrolled at the EU-CONEXUS universities.
Teams can include Bachelor students from the same or different partner universities. Additional members can be Master students.
Academic or non-academic staff and other stakeholders can join as advisors.
Project Ideas
Although we encourage ideas with a reference to SmUCS (Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability) related topics, ideas from any innovative field can be submitted. There are three possibilities to take part:
Work on your own project idea.
Elevate your course assignment if already taking part in an Entrepreneurship course (or related classes).
OR
You choose one of the challenges addressed by the Alliance or consider this as a starting point to create your own idea.
Multinational teams
Teams are encouraged to include members from different EU-CONEXUS universities, but it is not required.
Any EU-CONEXUS university members must be enrolled at the university they represent. Teams may also include members from universities outside the EU-CONEXUS Alliance.
The team leader must be enrolled at an EU-CONEXUS partner university.
Please let us know if you are interested in taking part but need help with choosing an idea or creating a team.
For support with matching members to teams please contact: innovationcontest@eu-conexus.eu
If you need help with creating your team, you may also let us know if you are looking for specific skills/ competences in your team member.
Challenges from the Alliance regions will be available on the EU-CONEXUS website.
Application
Register your interest anytime @ innovationcontest@eu-conexus.eu
Key competition dates and deadlines
Application Phase:
- Deadline project proposal: February 15, 2026
- Online pitch event: tba – mid – March
NOTE: If you plan on submitting a project proposal, please send us your project idea (link to document) any time!
Selection criteria
There will be a two-step selection process. In the first step, the jury selects up to 10 ideas. If more than 10 proposals meet the criteria, the jury will make a pre-selection referring to the persuasiveness of the idea following equated criteria.
Innovation, originality of the idea (25%)
How innovative is the presented idea? Which innovative products, procedures/ services are the basis of the business idea? What is the idea’s Unique Selling Point (USP)? What makes the idea better than the alternatives?
Customer use – customer value (5%)
Who is the potential target group? Which problems will be solved or needs satisfied with that business idea? How detailed can the use be described? Which is the specific advantage of the idea compared to alternative products/ procedures/ services on the market.
Market potential and prospects (5%)
Are there real market possibilities and a target group for the idea? In how far are the market and the target group limited? Does the idea have a unique selling point? Referring to the customer perspective, what makes the idea unique? Which chances and risk do exist in this potential market and by implementing the idea? Are there direct or indirect competitors?
Degree of realization – practicability (5%)
How realistic is the implementation of the idea? Is there a real chance of founding a start-up / business? How probable is the practicability? Are there additional partners necessary to realize the project idea? Will there be more developing steps necessary before the realization of the project idea?
Motivation and competences of the participants / teams (5%)
What are the core competences of the participants/ team? What motivates the participants to develop and implement the project idea? Which qualifications have the participants /team to offer and which fields are covered by the potential start-up/ business founders? Do the participants/ team have specific experience which is helpful for the ongoing process?
Societal challenges (5%)
Does the idea deal with societal challenges which may cover regional, social, economical or technical areas? Is there a relation or possible integration into the field of Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability (SmUCS)? Does the project idea have the potential to create jobs?
Each juror evaluates the presentations on their own and ranks the ideas. This will be the basis for the discussion and final evaluation after the presentation pitch.
The decision of the awarding of the best ideas in this phase is carried out based on:
- the proposal evaluated by the criteria of Phase 1 (50% weighting)
- a 5-minute pitch to the jury and 5-minute Q&A session in the Phase 2 (50% weighting)
Online Pitch:
- Presentation / media use (25%)
- Q & A (25%)
- Entrepreneur personality
Awards
Category: Students
1st place: 1,500€
2nd place: 1,000€
3rd place: 500€
