The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is pleased to announce the nominees for the 2022 EIT Awards. In the competition’s ninth year, the EIT Community is celebrating 27 outstanding innovators from 15 countries for their innovative products and services accelerating the transition to a more sustainable future.
The EIT Awards recognise the most promising entrepreneurs and innovators emerging from the EIT’s ecosystem across Europe: from student to entrepreneur, from lab to market, and from idea to solutions. This dynamic innovation approach creates a unique environment where nominees develop and scale innovative solutions to tackle pressing global challenges in the fields of climate, energy, digitalisation, food, health, manufacturing, mobility and raw materials.
The 2022 EIT Award nominees demonstrate the diversity of EIT’s pan-European innovation ecosystem with the following countries being represented: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The full list of nominees and their innovations can be found here.
Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth said: ‘The talent pool and scale of innovations in Europe is rapidly expanding. The nominees for this year’s EIT Awards are a testament to the work the EIT and its Innovation Communities do across our continent to support, invest, and nurture the innovators of tomorrow. I congratulate the nominees for being recognised at this high level and I look forward to the Awards Ceremony in October.’
The 2022 EIT Award Ceremony will be held during the EIT Summit on 11 October 2022 in Brussels, Belgium as part of the EIT’s flagship event series, INNOVEIT WEEKS. The 27 nominees will compete beforehand in an online semi-final on 29 September with 12 finalists advancing to the public awards ceremony.
Gioia Ghezzi, Chair of the EIT Governing Board said: ‘The EIT Awards showcase the innovators who are the heart of the EIT Community – they remind us of the strength and unity of our ecosystem, a message that rings true in these difficult time for Europe. This year’s innovations tackle some of the most pressing global issues: climate change, mental and physical health, waste reduction and many more. I, like many others look forward to seeing the nominees pitch their idea and to meeting the faces behind these game-changing innovations.’
The nominees will compete in the following four categories that represent the driving dynamics of
entrepreneurship in Europe:
- EIT CHANGE Award, recognising top graduates from EIT entrepreneurial education programmes
- EIT Innovators Award, highlighting teams and individuals that have developed high-impact products and services
- EIT Venture Award, showcasing start-ups and scale-ups that have benefited from business acceleratio and creation support by the EIT Community
- EIT Women Leadership Award, putting the spotlight on exceptional women in the EIT Community
Each award comes with a monetary prize of EUR 50 000 (first place), EUR 20 000 (second place), and EUR 10 000 (third place). The public will also be able to have its say with the fifth category, the EIT Public Award, giving everyone a chance to vote for their top innovation. Online voting will commence on 29 September at www.eitawards.eu
