Siemens launches sustainable development competition

Siemens Stiftung, the charitable foundation of the electronics company, announced the global award this week at the Rio+ 20 conference, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

“As a foundation active in projects extending basic services to those in needs we are convinced that technological solutions are a key lever to sustainable development,” said Ulrike Wahl, Managing Director of the Siemens Stiftung.

“The database we want to build is geared equally to bringing inventors in touch with organizations funding their idea, as well as empowering inventors and practitioners to link-up directly and thus speed up processes to tackle basic supply challenges.

“We invite everybody who has invented a technological solution for solving basic supply challenges to take part in the competition.”

Siemens Stiftung wants inventors and developers to submit technical products or solutions which can tackle critical issues such as water treatment, agriculture and ICT provision in some of the world's poorest regions.

The winning entry will receive a prize of 50,000 EUR, while second prize will be 30,000 EUR and third prize 20,000 EUR.

A further 5,000 EUR will be awarded to 20 runners up, while all entrants will retain intellectual properties.

Entries can be filed in the categories of Water & Waste Water, Energy, Food & Agriculture Waste Management & Recycling, Housing & Construction, Healthcare, and Information & Communication Technology.

Siemens Stiftung said the main objective of the competition is to make these solutions more easily accessible to practitioners and to empower more people to actively improve the social and economic environment.

Entries submitted will be used to form the basis of a long-term knowledge database that, alongside research possibilities, will generate direct interaction between the public and private sector as well as the world of academia, including developers and practitioners.

At the same time, the entrants and their projects will become visible to international partners and investors.

Deadline for entries is December 31, 2012.

Further information:

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Visit the Siemens Stiftung website