The everis Foundation has opened the call for the Xth Entrepreneurs and Essay prizes, aimed to promote innovation and research. Those interested can find more information on the website (www.fundacioneveris.es) where they can also register online. The deadline for receipt of applications, which may come from any country, is 1 June.
The Entrepreneur Award, worth € 60,000 euros, helps finance business projects of technological innovation, social or environmental management. The runners-up prize is € 40,000 euros. Last year’s winner was Deutecno Noses, a technology project for the development, production and sale of artificial olfactory devices. In 2010 the second prize, worth € 40,000, went to Inbionova Biotech, a project that developed mathematical algorithms able to describe and predict the behavior of life.
In the field of awards, the everis Foundation has signed an agreement with the Ibero-American Secretariat making the runners-up of the Entrepreneur Award eligible to compete in the Latin American Awards for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, recognizing innovative start-up companies. The presentation of these awards is planned to take place during the upcoming Ibero-American Summit.
The Essay Award is given to a paper that analyses, in a novel way, the role that companies play in the dynamics of social change, and is worth € 24,000. The essay awarded the second prize €6,000, although falling short of being the absolute winner, is still worthy enough to be published and receives €6,000.
Last year´s winning essay written by Daniel Nájar and entitled Emerging Entrepreneurs (Emprendedores emergentes) analyses the psychological and sociological character of entrepreneurs in Latin America.
Last year more than 100 projects were evaluated by a jury made up of leading personalities from social and economic backgrounds. The everis Foundation, set up in 2001 and chaired by Eduardo Serra, fully backs these awards, seeing them as a means to help increase both awareness and identification of new opportunities to help society.