Visit the website: www.emic.si
The Euro-Mediterranean Innovation Camp (EMIC), the first of its kind in the region, finally has its shortlist of candidates, who have reached the penultimate stage of the competition!
EMIC began accepting applications at the very end of 2022, and over a period of two months, received 154 applications. 32 made it through to the online pitching stage before the final 6 were selected and invited to innovation bootcamp.
The shortlisted candidates will be hosted in the workshop facility at EMUNI and the Jožef Stefan Institute in Slovenia or the EuroMed University of Fes (UEMF) in Morocco. Over 10 weeks, they will receive technical assistance and mentorship from subject matter experts, experienced engineers, product developers and designers, and innovation experts, while competing against each other through multiple elimination stages.
Applicants were asked to describe a novel idea or invention addressing either the environment and climate change, health or renewable energy, with the first category attracting the most applications, numbering 66. Almost 40% of the total applicants were female while the overwhelming majority of innovators-in-the-making came from non-EU countries.
The final 6 shortlisted candidates are representative of the Mediterranean and its spirit and are split evenly between male and female candidates.
Georgios Paliouras (Greece), Khaiereddine Bourguiba (Tunisia) and Saleh Saleh (Palestine) will specialise in Renewable Energy, and will be hosted by UEMF. Jihene Nouairi (Tunisia), Laila Mahmoud (Egypt) and Patricija Ham (Slovenia) will specialise in Environment and Climate Change, and will be hosted by EMUNI and the Jožef Stefan Institute. Each candidate will have his/her respective mentor.
The Innovation Squad start bootcamp on 3rd April and will proceed through various elimination stages that will focus on proof of concept, engineering, prototyping/testing and customer validation, until the final candidates reach the finale in June.
Good luck Innovators!
