Deadline: March 30, 2018
Entries are now invited for the fifth Valeo Innovation Challenge. Valeo invites students from all over the world to innovate and to develop their entrepreneurial spirit, offering the winners the opportunity to create their own start-ups. The aim is to reward an innovative project, whether it is a technological innovation or an idea for new ways to use cars.
The competition is a way for Valeo to show that innovation lies at the core of its DNA and that Research and Development is a priority for the group. It is a guiding principle for Valeo’s 14,000 engineers who each day innovate to invent the car of tomorrow.
Valeo is an automotive supplier and partner to automakers worldwide. As a technology company, we design innovative solutions for smart mobility, with a particular focus on intuitive driving and reducing CO₂ emissions. The Group also provides and distributes spare parts for automakers and independent aftermarket operators.
The participants will have to propose new solutions in one of the following categories:
- Vehicle electrification
- Autonomous vehicle
- Digital mobility
Prizes
- For the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Teams: At the end of the competition the sum of €200,000 will be shared, as decided by the Jury, between the three winning teams of the Challenge. In addition to their prize, they will be offered the opportunity to join Valeo’s business accelerator
- For the 9 Finalist teams: The finalist teams will have 16 weeks to accelerate their project with the help of Valeo and external experts recognized for their experience and professional expertise, like scientists, designers, sociologists and architects. They will have the opportunity to Pitch in Paris
Eligibility
- The contest is open to students worldwide who have completed their high school education, from any discipline, and to teachers (maximum of one teacher per team), with one entry per person (with same name and same email address).
- Participants must be able to travel outside their country of residence and possess, by October 2018, a passport that is still valid for six months after the date scheduled for awarding the prizes (October 2018).
- Entrants must compete in teams made up of between two and a maximum of five people.
Selection Criteria
- Bold, innovative and original idea of the project
- Challenges and relevance of the problem addressed and how the expectations of automakers, end-users and society have been factored in
- Project quality with a view to creating a start-up:
- Project feasibility
- Structured business model
Application
Teams can take part to the challenge by presenting a relevant, innovative project in English by submitting:
- mp4 video pitch (maximum 3 minutes) that explains the project in a clear, simple and audible way,
- accompanied by 5 slides describing the composition of the team; the problem identified; the existing or known solutions; the proposed technical solution; the target market and the business model.
Timeline:
- First Stage: Registration & Ideation From November 15, 2017 to March 30, 2018 at noon
- Second Stage: Project accelerations From June 16, 2018 to September 28, 2018
- Third Stage: Final Pitch & Awards October 12, 2018
Documents relating to the contest and the online entry information are available here.
For more information, visit Valeo Innovation Challenge.
