Entrepreneurship Forum & Start-Up Competition at IROS 2017

On 11 Aug, 2017
Categories: Deadlines

ENTREPRENEURSHIP FORUM & START-UP COMPETITION EFSC'17       

 

in conjunction with
2017 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS'17)
Vancouver, 24 - 28 September

September 26, 2017 (tentative)

PURPOSE OF THE EVENT

To foster the entrepreneurial spirit and to provide a platform to encourage researchers and practitioners to transition ideas and prototypes in robotics and intelligent systems to commercializable products, the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE RAS) is inviting the robotics research community to participate in an Entrepreneurship Forum and Start-up Competition (EFSC) at the 2017 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS’17) in Vancouver, Canada (http://www.iros2017.org/).

The event is intended to inspire, educate, enable, and empower researchers, students, young professionals, and anyone else who has the 'start-up bug' in starting companies of their own but is not sure of how to go about it. We also believe that this event will create an ecosystem that will provide the much-needed support for start-ups to launch their initiatives while being realistic about their envisioned ideas and products. 

EFSC at IROS'17 will consist of three stages:
• In the first stage, submitted applications will be down-selected to arrive at a pool of qualifiedapplicants based on a defined set of criteria developed by the organizers (see 'Application Form' information below).
• This will be followed by a remote stage where the selected applicants will be paired with coaches based on the proposal content and the expertise of the coaches. The coaches will then provide critical feedback and technical and professional assistance to refine the idea/product pitches.
• The final stage would allow for the refined pitches and content to be presented in front of a distinguished panel of industry and academic experts who have successfully funded, transitioned and have experience in commercialization of robotics and automation technologies.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

Anyone with an idea utilizing robotics and/or automation technology that has reached a proof of concept level is welcome to submit an application provided that the company is less than 3 years old.

 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE?

Interested applicants should complete the application form available for download from http://iros2017.org/program/forums/efsc. Please email completed forms toefsc@iros2017.org

TRAVEL SUPPORT & AWARDS

We will provide travel support for all qualified applicants invited to IROS'17 (~$1500/team) and awards for the top 3 finishers (pending funding approval at the time of this Call). Qualified applicants will further receive a free mini-booth in the IROS'17 exhibition area for an interactive presentation of their product (idea).

 

IMPORTANT DATES
• Submission of application forms: Aug. 11, 2017
• Announcement of selected applicants: Aug. 18, 2017
• Final presentations at IROS'17: Sept. 26, 2017


ORGANIZERS:

Erwin Prassler (H-BRS, IEEE RAS VP for Industrial Activities)
Dominik Boesl (KUKA AG) 
Jianwei Zhang (U. Hamburg)

 

 

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