Inspire. Explore. Compete.

Our course is designed to be flexible, catering to your individual needs and interests. Whether you're passionate about food, innovation, or tackling global challenges, there's a place for you here.

This course aims to equip you with the skills and mindset necessary to thrive in innovation and entrepreneurship related to food systems. It is the continuation of the journey initiated by completing the Inspire Explore course (4 modules), which allows you to apply the knowledge and skills you’ve developed.

To win, all you need is to prepare an outstanding slide deck focused on one of the three EIT Food Missions:

• Healthier Lives Through Food 
• A Net Zero Food System 
• Reducing Risk for a Fair & Resilient Food System

The top presentations from each mission will advance to the final round, competing for the ultimate prize during a live online event at the beginning of 2025.

Mark your calendars - the competition runs from October 1st to November 30th, 2024. This is your chance to participate, earn your certificate, and compete for prizes! 

At the end of this course, you will have the opportunity to win a cash prize, share your idea with a panel of experts and receive feedback.

You will also:

1. Appreciate the value of opportunities that arise
2. Identify, develop and act on entrepreneurial opportunities
3. Articulate a food system problem that can be addressed by a sustainable solution
4. Evaluate a target market in order to assess the potential for a product innovation
5. Mobilise resources to support the creation of value to the market
6. Implement actions to initiate the deliverance of an innovative solution
7. Submit your idea and get feedback

The course is designed to be flexible to your needs. It's for anyone interested in food, innovation, and solving global challenges.

This course is available 1.10 - 30.11. 2024 for you to be a part of the competition, get your certificate and win a prizes!

Take part for a chance to win up to 2000€ in cash!

1.  Eligibility: The competition is open to individuals aged 18 years or older.
2. Entry Requirements: 
   1. Participants must complete the first 4 sections of the Inspire Explore course. Section 5 is the competition section which requires you to create and submit 4 slides.
   2. Participants must have and provide a valid bank account in their name.
   3. Each idea submission must be linked to one of the EIT Food missions and must cover each of these areas.
3. Only a single entry per person is allowed.
4. Submission Deadline: 30 November 2024. Entries received after this deadline will not be considered.
5. Selection of Winners: Winners will be selected by a panel of judges appointed by EIT Food Education in January 2025. 
6. Judging criteria for a slide deck: All entries will be judged on the quality of the submission in each of the four sections of the Inspire Explore course as well as on the fit with the overall objectives of the chosen mission (see EIT Food Mission Insight Reports). The decision of the judges is final and binding.
   1. What is the problem you are addressing, how big is it and who has it?
   2. What is your solution – what does it do and how does it work?
   3. How will you communicate your idea – name, messages, channels, engagement
   4. How will it work financially – how much money will you need to deliver the solution and how much money do you expect it to make/save? 
7. Judging criteria for presentation of finalists: Participants with the best presentations will be invited to deliver their pitch and participate in a final event. Their final presentation is then assessed based on a final pitch assessment grid consisting of seven criteria:
   1. Is the definition of the problem clear and specific?
   2. Is the target market well researched in terms of type and characteristics?
   3. Is the proposed solution well-explained and does it clearly address the problem identified?
   4. Is the overall size of the opportunity clearly defined?
   5. Is there a logical financial model that covers major income and cost elements
   6. Is there an appropriate sales and marketing plan that will reach the target customer?
   7. Overall quality of the pitch
8. Prizes: 
   1. There are three prizes, one per each mission category: €500 each. 
   2. The winner in each mission category will compete against each other for the EIT Food Inspire. Explore. Compete. Champion prize of a further €1500.
   3. Prizes are non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash or any other alternatives.
9. Notification of Winners: Winners will be notified by email within 50 days of the competition closing date. If a winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize within 5 days of notification, EIT Food reserves the right to withdraw the prize from that winner and select a replacement.
10. Publicity: By entering the competition, participants agree to allow EIT Food to use their name, likeness, and entry for promotional purposes without further compensation.
11. Intellectual Property: 
    1. Participants in Inspire. Explore. Compete. retain complete ownership of the innovation and intellectual property ("IP") developed during their participation
    2. Participants explicitly assure EIT Food that they are the rightful owners of the intellectual property they submit.
    3. By participating, Participants acknowledge and agree that any innovation or IP they present is their own, and they have the legal right to claim ownership.
12. Good Faith Operating Principle:
    1. Inspire. Explore. Compete. operates on the principle of good faith, trusting that Participants provide accurate information regarding their ownership of the IP.
    2. Inspire. Explore. Compete. reserves the right to take appropriate measures if it is discovered that a Participant has misrepresented their ownership of the IP.
    3. By entering the competition, participants grant EIT Food a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, and distribute their entries for promotional purposes.
13. Disqualification: EIT Food reserves the right to disqualify any participant who violates these terms and conditions or engages in fraudulent or unsportsmanlike conduct.
14. Changes to the Competition: EIT Food reserves the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the competition at any time for any reason.
15. Liability: EIT Food is not responsible for any lost, late, misdirected, or incomplete entries or for any technical or human error that may occur in the processing of entries.
16. Contact Information: Any questions or concerns regarding the competition should be directed to core.inspire@eitfood.eu 

By participating in the prize-challenge competition, participants agree to abide by these terms and conditions. EIT Food reserves the right to update or modify these terms at any time without prior notice.