Starting Position
High quality GNSS education is a driver for innovation, an enhancement for companies’ competitiveness and a valuable opportunity for international cooperation. To bridge the gap from GNSS research and academia to entrepreneurship the ESNC University Challenge particularly addresses students and research associates with the aim to foster the creation of commercial ventures from bright ideas. Furthermore the University Challenge will leverage exposure and credibility of student innovations on a global level and establish links to the world of business. The ESNC University Challenge is being carried out by Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) and supported by the CIP project KIS4SAT (Knowledge Intensive Services in the satellite downstream applications and services sector) and Awapatent AB.

Objectives
The ESNC University Challenge not only addresses students and research associates with a background in aerospace and GNSS-specific courses of study but aims at reaching out to any young researcher dealing with areas of potential applications, be it prospective automotive engineers, logistics providers, game and other mobile application developers, or health promoters. The evaluators will focus on creativity and market needs rather than technological perfection of the business idea.

Prize
The aim of the ESNC University Challenge is the realisation of the winning idea in form of founding a start-up company. KIS4SAT will provide 10 days of work with an individual coach to be selected by the winner from within the KIS4SAT consortium. The coach will e.g. consult on IPR issues, technological feasibility and business plan in order to prepare the application to a suitable incubation programme as offered by ESNC partner regions. In addition Awapatent AB, one of the leading IP-firms in Europe, will provide patent consulting worth EUR 8,000 aiming at filing a patent for the nominated idea.

Furthermore the Universität der Bundeswehr München will sponsor a ticket for the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit 2011, worth EUR 650,- incl. the opportunity to present the awarded project at the exhibition booth of Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen.

2nd prize: The Universität der Bundeswehr München will provide the first runner-up with a free-of-charge ticket for the ESA International Summer School on GNSS 2011.