The registration period for the second edition of the "Business Ideas Competition in Air Traffic Management", an initiative of CRIDA, the research, development and innovation subsidiary of ENAIRE, the national air navigation service provider, is open through 31 December 2023.
"The aim is to encourage the generation of ideas that result in the creation of innovative companies in ENAIRE's area of activity. Therefore, the business ideas competition will be a success if it serves to expand the innovative ecosystem of air navigation", noted ENAIRE's CEO, Enrique Maurer.
The competition is open to undergraduate/graduate students, professionals, PhD students, and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Selection Committee
The competition has a Selection Committee, which is tasked with assessing the viability of each project. The three best projects, in the opinion of the Selection Committee, will receive prizes of 5,000, 3,000 and 1,000 euros for first, second and third place, respectively.
In addition, two more ideas will be selected that, together with the three winners, will enter the incubation phase. In this phase, the proponents of the ideas selected will have individual and group mentorships for three months, from February to April 2024, to refine the definition of their business ideas. After the incubation phase, the idea with the best business plan will receive an additional 10,000 euros.
The first edition took place last year. Twenty-two ideas were presented, of which the five best took part in the incubation programme.
"My mentor helped bring me back down to Earth with each iteration and change in the idea, trying to steer more to an idea that was actually useful to ENAIRE. He helped me ask myself the right questions in each area and give it the right shape", says Jesús Benito López Moreno, creator of VAiR GATE, a finalist in the first edition.
"Our mentor helped us and guided us throughout the process, and taught us interesting tricks and concepts", says César Gómez Arnaldo, creator of DRONELYTICS, which won 2nd prize in the first edition of the Competition.
ENAIRE Open Innovation
The Business Ideas Competition in Air Traffic Management is part of the ENAIRE Open Innovation project. In 2023, this project will include the third edition of the Technical Challenge Competition and an acceleration phase for newly-created companies.
"With these initiatives, ENAIRE will promote turning entrepreneurial ideas into real projects through the Open Innovation concept, that is, by looking for talent outside the organisation as well, such as in universities and among entrepreneurs inside and outside the sector", says CRIDA's director, José Miguel de Pablo.
More information at ideas.enaireopeninnovation.com
