Competition Structure
Want to win a cash prize of £5,000?
Have a brilliant CleanTech idea, or do you want to join a team?
The CleanTech Challenge is a student competition where business and science/engineering students from top European business and engineering schools compete in cross-functional teams. The challenge is to develop innovative clean technology ideas from the concept phase to a stage in which they would attract Series A funding or otherwise be self-sustainable.
CleanTech is new technology and related business models that offer competitive returns for investors and customers while providing solutions to global challenges.
Eligibility - Any Postgraduate student registered on any Postgraduate degree programme (Masters or Doctoral) at a participating School or College during the academic year 2009-2010 can participate.
Key Dates and Competition Structure
Phase |
Definition |
Date |
Call for Ideas |
Official launch of the event, call to submit your idea online in less than 200 words |
25 Jan 2010 |
Ideas Submission |
Deadline for receiving ideas |
21 Feb 2010 |
Selection for Phase 2 |
Successful Phase 1 entrants are informed by email. They will be invited to complete their teams, and to further elaborate their ideas. The exact format of the Phase 2 submission will be disclosed to Phase 1 winners on March 1st 2010. |
1 March 2010 |
Final idea and team submission deadline |
Submission of a detailed version of the idea and the team details (including CV’s). |
19 March 2010 |
Selection for Phase 3 (finals) |
Successful Phase 2 teams are informed by email. |
29 March 2010 |
Boot camp finals |
Compete in challenge |
22-23 April 2010 |
Phase 1: Announce and invite ideas
25 January 2010 - 21 February 2010
This phase is designed to stimulate as many 'ideas' as possible.
Business students may have insights into great potential products but may be on far shakier ground when it comes to sourcing and developing the technology needed to make them happen. "Tech"-students may have the opposite problem. They may feel sure that they've spotted a technology that could somehow be used to huge environmental benefit - but may have no idea how best to take it forward.
By February 21st, you need to submit (online) a two hundred word document to tell us your idea. The idea may come from an individual or from a small team. We will then filter the ideas- taking out those submissions that lack substance, that fail to express the idea with clarity of thought or expression, that lack originality or that require suspension of the laws of thermodynamics.
Phase 2: Finalise your idea & complete your team
01 March 2010 - 19 March 2010
The proposers of the successful ideas will be invited to form teams that will work together on the idea. Teams must consist of two up to five persons (optimum four), with at least one student (currently) pursuing a technical or scientific degree, and at least one pursuing a business-related degree.
The authors of the ideas that have successfully made it through can form teams with their local pairing institution (e.g. London Business School and University College of London/Imperial College) or on their own initiative.
Through an online competition platform, participants will be able to interact with other business and engineering students with the intention of forming teams for the finals. These other students have to be registered on the CTC website but need not necessarily have participated in Phase 1.
By the deadline of 19 March 2010 the team has to submit its final developed idea.
Phase 3: Boot camp finals
22 to 23 April 2010
10 to 15 successful Phase 2 Teams will be invited to attend a two day Boot Camp and participate in the final challenge. They will attend sessions led by leading CleanTech specialists, and they will be mentored by entrepreneurs and venture capital investors.
