Ericsson Innovation Awards 2020 - The Annual Global Student Competition

The 2020 Ericsson Innovation Awards (EIA) is a call to ‘Reclaim the Future.’ This year, the annual global competition calls on students around the globe to set major change in motion by committing to addressing the current and future challenges of climate action. Focused on how ICT/technology solutions can provide radical climate change mitigation for consumers and industry alike.

To participate in the Ericsson Innovation Awards, you must register with a complete entry by September 30th, 2020. A ‘complete entry’ means that all required questions are answered and you have registered up to 4 total team members, all of whom are current students pursuing a degree of higher academic studies.

By registering with a complete submission, you will automatically be entered to compete in the regional competition and will be eligible to be considered for the global semi-finals.

Please find the more information as below,

Pre-submission phase – YOUR chance to have ERICSSON mentors giving you initial feedback

• This year encourage you to submit your ideas before September 4th  if you would like to get the chance of having a round of feedback from Ericsson Mentors.
• First 7 teams in each Region to submit a complete entry will be offered a 2h session with a group of mentors that will provide feedback and advice on how you can improve your submission. 
• Once you have the feedback from the mentors you will be able to resubmit your application if you would like to. We will send a link to the platform to re-submit your application to those teams.
• If you will resubmit your application the final version needs to be submitted before September 30th.
• This does not guarantee the selection to the Semi-Finals.

Phase 1: Regional Competition- Concept framing

• All submissions will automatically be sorted into regional competitions based on their submitted primary country. Qualifying submissions will be judged by a panel of 4 judges aligned to that region. There will be one winner per region. Click here to view submission requirements at this stage.
• Regions include: (1) Northern America; (2 ) South & Central America  (3) India; (4) Middle East & Africa; (5) North East Asia; (6) South East Asia & Oceania; (7) Europe and the Mediterranean
• To view a list of regional competitions by country, please click here.
• Prizes: all 7 regional winner teams will win €1,000 (including the Swedish tax to be paid). They will also get the chance to be interviewed for internships or jobs and will be eligible for additional prizes and recognition at the Market Area or country level.
• Extra 7 global teams will also be selected to move forward to the semi-finals but will not be eligible of any cash prize.
• Phase 1 will conclude on October 15th  with the announcement of the 7 Regional winners and 7 Global winners who will both move into Phase 2, Semi-finals.
• All teams will be notified of their standing. Categories include: regional winner (7 teams), moving to semi-finalist qualifier (7 teams), and not moving forward.
• After this phase all teams will be allocated Ericsson mentors to coach them into developing their ideas.

Phase 2: Semi-Finalist – Business case build up

• 14 teams with the highest scores have now qualified to the Semi-Finals.
• Semi-finalists will receive 5 weeks of mentorship from a group of assigned Ericsson Expert Mentors, experts in Innovation and Business who can help the team further develop their idea.
• With the Mentor’s support, Semi-finalists will submit a new set of deliverables, which will represent a more rounded version of their original idea.
• Semi-finalists will be scored by a jury of global Ericsson experts in innovation and the competition theme.
• Phase 2 will conclude with the 14 Semi-finalists submitting the deliverables no latter then November 22nd.
• The 3 Finalist teams will be announced on November 30th. Those who progress as Finalists will received another 2 weeks of mentorship in preparing for their final pitch.
• All teams will be notified of their standing. Categories include: Finalist (3) and not moving forward (11).

Phase 3: Grand Final – Business case pitch

• 3 teams will move forward to the EIA Grand Final, which this year will be held digitally from Stockholm, Sweden.
• The teams have 2 weeks to finalize their pitches and submit the last deliverables, with the help of their mentors.
• Judging will take place at the time of the event and will be conducted by a jury of both Ericsson and non-Ericsson experts in innovation and the theme.
• The teams will be judged based on a live presentation and final deliverables. Click here to view deliverables at this stage.

Semi- finalists:

• Each of the 7 regional winners will receive a €1,000 cash prize, a possible recruiter interview for a job or internship, a prominent feature on Ericsson digital media, and a certificate of achievement, in addition to special recognition and prizes offered within their respective regions.
• All 14 semi-finalists will receive 5 weeks of mentorship from Ericsson experts in innovation and business. Semi-finalists will receive recognition on social and digital media, a chance for a recruiter interviews (if available positions at that time) and a certificate of achievement.

Finalists:

All finalist team members will receive the chance to participate in a Global live event transmitted from Stockholm, Sweden. Finalists will receive an additional 2 weeks of mentorship and recognition across Ericsson social media and digital channels.

The competition winners will receive prizes of:

• Grand Prize: €25,000 
• 2nd Place: €15,000 
• 3rd  Place: €5,000 

All prizes are including the Swedish tax to be paid once the winners are announced.

The global competition also includes an Employee’s Choice award, which will grant €2,000 in addition to the winner’s existing prize. The Grand Prize Winner will also receive special recognition and additional mentoring session from Ericsson ONE, as well as, after careful evaluation by the Ericsson ONE team, the chance to pitch their idea in the Angel’s room.

EIA 2019: Dive deeper

2019’s edition of the Ericsson Innovation Awards challenged students to harness the power of water and underwater material environments to develop innovative solutions to global challenges. Learn more here

EIA 2018: The Future of Truth

In the digital word, it’s harder than ever to spot the truth. But, last year’s competitors aimed to find it. Learn more here and find out who won.

EIA 2017: The Future of Food

Last year, student teams from around the world came up with innovative ideas about how we can produce enough nutritious food to feed our world’s growing population – responsibly and sustainably. Learn more here

EIA 2016: The Future of City Life

By 2050, about 70 percent of the world’s population is expected to reside in urban areas. That’s why the 2016 competition was all about finding ways that technology can improve the quality of urban life. Read more here and here

EIA 2015: The Future of Learning

How can technology enhance the way we learn, and make learning accessible for all? That was the question our teams answered in 2015 – learn more here