2015-2016 Competition

The right to participate in the competition have:

Community A: Students of the University of the Aegean from any level of studies (undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral candidates, doctorates), individually or in groups.

Community B: Young men and women who live permanently in Greece, have been born since 1980 and do not belong to the community of the University of the Aegean, individually or in groups.
Each candidate can participate in up to two proposals – groups and in up to two thematic areas. It is not possible for a member / members to participate simultaneously in both Communities A & Β.

Thematic areas of special importance for the Aegean in which proposals can be submitted are the following (sub-areas are indicative):

Rural Development – Nutrition – Health – Education
- New products or services in the agricultural – food sector
- Health applications and services
- Biologically based drugs
- Innovative applications and training services
Shipping – Trade – Transport
- Innovative applications in shipping and transport
- New methods of production and distribution of products
- New methods of locating and controlling loads
Tourism – Culture – Environment
- New services in the fields of tourism and culture
- Use of new environmentally friendly materials or processes
- Integration of “green” technologies in the production process and in the provision of services
- New energy technologies in the primary or secondary sector
- Management and protection of natural resources
Informatics – Telecommunications – Governance – Social Entrepreneurship
- IT and telecommunications products or services
- E-government applications for public bodies, citizens or businesses
- Social entrepreneurship and volunteering applications

All ideas must propose a clear business model for revenue generation and potentially be scalable outside Greece. The promotion of a particular feature, resource or possibility of the Aegean is an additional point of differentiation.

The competition is implemented in 3 stages:

1st Stage (electronic submission only)

To participate in the competition, candidates are invited to write a short, clear and documented description of their business idea, based on the template (submission form) included on the competition website.

The basic elements of all the proposals of the 1st stage will be made public, on the website of Aegean Startups.

For the qualification in the 2nd stage, the originality, the feasibility and the completeness of each proposal will be taken into account, as well as the popularity of the proposal on the platform.

The evaluation of the proposals will be done by a body of evaluators of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit of the University of the Aegean, with the participation of academics and market executives.

All the teams that were formed and participated in the Summer Schools of Electronic Entrepreneurship (eBiz) and “Network of Summer Academies” – CREA (Horizon 2020) can submit their ideas in the competition. The teams that excelled in the above Summer Schools (took the 1st place), if they submit their ideas, can go directly to the 2nd stage of the competition.

2nd Stage (electronic submission only)

The proposals that will qualify in the 2nd stage will compile and submit a comprehensive business plan, based on a template that will be given to them, which can lead to the establishment of a business and will be sufficient to be evaluated by potential financiers. Tools and instructions for writing a complete business plan can be found on the website of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit of the University of the Aegean.

In addition, the selected teams will be able to communicate with mentors from the academic and business world that will be assigned to them, in collaboration with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit of the University of the Aegean and depending on the content of their business idea. Communication and related sessions between mentors and team members will be done electronically.

3rd Stage (presentation and award)

In the final stage, the best Business Plans (per thematic area) that stood out in stage 2 are presented and awarded, which are presented in the final event of the competition.

The four best business ideas (1 per thematic area) by groups of students / graduates of the University of the Aegean will be awarded a special distinction and award by the University of the Aegean while the four best business ideas (1 per thematic area) by groups outside the University of the Aegean will will be awarded with special prizes, which will be offered by sponsors of the competition. All teams that will be distinguished:

will be published through the website of the competition and related publications
will have access to mentors to optimize their idea and seek further funding or other assistance
will have access to support infrastructure (cradles) inside and outside the University of the Aegean, in Athens and the Aegean islands

In the event that no proposal is awarded in a subject area, the competition organizers reserve the right to award additional proposals in other subject areas.

At the same time, the most popular proposal, based on the acceptance of the public on the website of the competition, which meets the minimum criteria, will be nominated for a special prize.

All participants who will take part in the competition will be given a certificate of participation depending on the stage they have reached.

The important dates for the competition are:

March 2, 2015	1st stage: Submission of initial ideas
March 20, 2015	Selection of ideas that will proceed to the next Stage 2
May 25, 2015	2nd stage: Submission of business plans
October 2015	3rd stage: Announcement of evaluation results and awarding of distinguished students / groups in a special event

The four best business ideas (1 per thematic area) from Community A will be awarded with a special distinction and an award by D.A.STA. through the Operational Program “Education and Lifelong Learning 2007-2013” (EPEDBM) of the NSRF (2007-2013), which is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund – ECB) and from National Resources

The four best business ideas (1 per thematic area) from Community B will be awarded with special prizes, which will be offered by sponsors of the competition.

All teams that will be distinguished:

will be published through the website of the competition and related publications
will have access to mentors to optimize their idea and seek further funding or other assistance
will have access to support infrastructure (cradles) inside and outside the University of the Aegean, in Athens and the Aegean islands

In the event that no proposal is awarded in a thematic area, the competition organizers reserve the right to award additional proposals in other thematic areas within each Community.

At the same time, the most popular proposal, based on the public acceptance on the competition’s social media site, which meets the minimum criteria, will be nominated for a special prize through the competition sponsorships.

All participants who will take part in the competition will be given a certificate of participation by D.A.STA. of the University of the Aegean depending on the stage they have reached and the Community to which they belong.

The participants in the Aegean Startups Competition accept the following terms

Participation in the entrepreneurship competition of the University of the Aegean implies the unconditional acceptance of all without exception the terms and procedures included in the Competition Notice, as published on the website of the competition AEGEAN Startups (www.aegean-startups.gr)
The participation in the Competition is made by submitting a proposal in the special form of the website of the competition AEGEAN Startups (www.aegean-startups.gr)
The submission of proposals and accompanying texts is done in the Greek language (with the exception of the use of scientific or special international terms, where required).
Interested parties can participate in the entrepreneurship competition individually or in groups. In Category A all members of the team must be students or graduates of the University of the Aegean. Category B is open to young people outside the community of the University of the Aegean, as described in the Competition Notice. For group participations, the representative / coordinator of the group must be declared, who will be the contact person, as well as the other members.
The participants have full and exclusive responsibility for securing or otherwise protecting their submitted proposals as well as the rights deriving from them.
Any candidate participating in Category A cannot participate in Category B and vice versa. Each candidate within the same Category can participate in up to two proposals – groups and in up to two thematic areas.
The participants take responsibility for the ownership of the submitted proposal.
The basic elements of all the proposals of the 1st stage will be put on public view, on the website of Aegean Startups and the most popular proposal, based on the public acceptance on the Social Networking pages of the competition, after meeting the minimum criteria, will be a candidate for special award.
The organizer may at any stage of the competition request the relevant documents for cross-checking or certification of the details of the participants / substances in accordance with the terms of the Notice of Competition.
In case of false declaration, the organizer does not bear any responsibility, and reserves the right to cancel the participation in any phase of the competition.
Any costs of preparing the proposals submitted in the competition are borne exclusively by the participants.
In case of submission of proposals with the same title or the same content for a description of a product or service, the proposal submitted first based on the date of submission of the electronic application will participate in the competition.
The associates (or the first degree kinship members of the associates) of D.A.STA. or any of its underlying structures that deals with the Entrepreneurship Competition, are not eligible to participate in the Competition.
The business ideas and plans that will be submitted in the competition remain confidential and the copyright belongs to the creators of each proposal. The organizer can publish on the website of the competition the general information of the business proposals, as submitted in the application form.
The organizer does not accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, liability, or frustration that participants may suffer.
The organizer reserves the right for any reason and without reason to withdraw the Prize or to modify the terms and conditions or to change the schedule and deadlines of the Prize with an announcement on the website of the competition.
In the event that no proposal is awarded in a subject area, the competition organizers reserve the right to award additional proposals in other subject areas.