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Within the context of the European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC), a ‘60 Years of EU Special Prize’ focuses on the contribution that Europe’s space programmes make to European integration. The prize will award the very best ideas that use European GNSS to bring Europe closer together. Potential applications could address, for example, such EU political priorities as traffic and transport management for the efficient cross-border transportation of goods, travel platforms that encourage people to travel from one country to another, and so on.

Watch this: Europe for Space, Space for Europe

2017 is a significant year for both the European Union and Europe’s space programmes. This year Europe celebrates the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, which, by establishing ‘an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe’, laid the foundation for building the EU. For 60 years, European nations have worked together towards a common goal: a peaceful, united and prosperous Europe. Together, they created something that no single European nation could do on their own, thus strengthening and growing European integration in many important areas – including the EU’s flagship space programmes: Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus.

Eligibility criteria

All proposals for the Prize must use European GNSS as the primary means of positioning. Moreover, all ideas should be technically operative, innovative, demonstrate market potential and contribute to the adoption of Galileo. Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Innovative approach over existing solutions
• Commercial feasibility
• Use of European GNSS signals and services
• Contribution to the market uptake of Galileo
• Technical/operational feasibility, including maturity of the idea
• Demonstrations/market trials for technology validation
• Contribution to European integration

The winners will have the opportunity to develop their idea at a suitable incubation centre of their choice within the EU28 for six months, with the option of a six-month extension based on an evaluation after the first six-month period (a total value of up to EUR 40,000). In addition, the winning idea will benefit from extensive promotion through the GSA’s many marketing channels and at relevant industry events.

Previous winners

The 2016 GSA Special Prize was won by Space Geomatica for the project Drones2GNSS - the Future of Surveying: UAV-assisted GNSS Positioning in Obstructed Environments. This project uses a drone equipped with a highly accurate GNSS receiver and a camera/laser measuring system to overcome obstacles to GNSS positioning accuracy caused by buildings, vegetation and other interference.

You can check out all previous GSA special prize winners here.

How to apply

Applications for the GSA prize and other ESNC special prizes and regional prizes can be submitted via the ESNC website. To find out what you need to do to take part, please follow the link to How to Participate. For more information about related events, visit the Events section on the site.

The ESNC overall winner is selected from all regional and special prize winners by an international panel of high-ranking experts. All of this year’s winners will be announced at a ceremony held during Estonian Space Week in Tallinn, Estonia, in November.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

keď som mal 16 rokov vznikla Charta 77. tento text napísal Jan Patočka 8. marca 1977, päť dní pred svojou smrťou, ako hovorca Charty ´77. po štyridsiatich rokoch sa jeho vyhlásenie zdá stále aktuálne a použiteľné a jednou z príležitostí jeho využitia...

From 1 April to 30 June 2017, the European Satellite Navigation Competition (known as the ‘Galileo Masters’), the largest international competition for the innovative use of satellite navigation, will be scouting for outstanding ideas and business models to put on the fast track.

The European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) was launched, along with the Copernicus Masters, the leading innovation platform for commercial Earth observation applications, at a joint international kick-off event hosted by the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the EU in Brussels, on 5 April 2017.

From now until June 30, ESNC will be searching for the most forward‐thinking applications based on satellite navigation. The winners, which will be announced at a ceremony as part of the Estonian Space Week in Tallinn, Estonia, in November, will share in this year’s prize pool of more than EUR 1 million and will benefit from the ESNC’s unparalleled support network, including the ESA Business Incubation Centres and the brand new E-GNSS Accelerator, co-funded by the European Commission.

GSA Market Development Officer, Reinhard Blasi (right), at the 2017 Satellite Masters opening event panel with Thomas Beer, from the ESA Copernicus Space Office.

Speaking at the kick-off ceremony, Andreas Veispak, Head of the European Commission’s Space Data for Societal Challenges and Growth Unit, noted that the EU had invested a lot of money in satellites, and now stakeholders, including Member States, were looking for a return on this investment. “This can only be yielded through satellite applications that are of use to end users in the public and private sectors,” he said.

Return on investment

This is where the ESNC plays a key role. Since 2004, the Competition has been fast-tracking the most ground-breaking ideas for Galileo-related applications across Europe and beyond and transforming them into market-ready products and new ventures. Each year, the Competition helps promote over 400 business ideas and has already awarded prizes to more than 300 winners over the years, which represent just a fraction of the more than 3,700 innovative concepts submitted by over 11,000 participants.

Also read: KYNEO project moves closer to commercialisation

With an impressive prize pool of over EUR 1 million, the 2017 edition of Competition will give entrepreneurs and start-ups with services, products or business ideas that use satellite navigation in everyday life access to more than 160 space-related stakeholders and allow them to benefit from support from over 40 incubators and the expertise of more than 250 experts.

The EU at 60: Special 2017 Prize for Space & Europe!

As a special focus, this year GSA will present a prize for the most promising application idea focussing on how Galileo and EGNOS help support European Integration. Now that Galileo is delivering Initial Services, Reinhard Blasi, Market Development Officer at the European GNSS Agency (GSA), noted at the ceremony, the focus is shifting from not only embracing EGNOS on a European level, but Galileo on a global level. “Since December 2016 we have gone from deployment to delivering services, which means that today users can benefit from Galileo now,” he said. “In light of the 60th anniversary of the EU, and a milestone year when Galileo is operational, following the December 2016 Declaration of Initial Services, we want to raise the awareness of how EU investment in space is concretely benefiting Europeans and will continue to in untold ways for many years to come.”

Watch this: Europe for space, space for Europe

E-GNSS Accelerator

The ESNC winners can also benefit from the new ‘E-GNSS Accelerator’. This programme is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and start-ups to boost their business case on a broad scale and bring their products and services to market. The E-GNSS Accelerator will run for three years and will directly support the winners of the ESNC 2017, 2018 and 2019. As a result, the participants will receive even more prizes and services worth an additional EUR 500,000.

For more information on the ESNC, including all relevant information on prizes, partners, and terms of participation, visit the Competition’s official website: www.esnc.eu. Information on the Copernicus Masters can be found here: www.copernicus-masters.com.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

From 1 April to 30 June 2017, the European Satellite Navigation Competition (‘known as the ‘Galileo Masters’), the largest international competition for the innovative use of satellite navigation, will be scouting for outstanding ideas and business models to put on the fast track.

The European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) was launched, along with the Copernicus Masters, the leading innovation platform for commercial Earth observation applications, at a joint international kick-off event hosted by the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the EU in Brussels, on 5 April 2017.

From now until June 30, ESNC will be searching for the most forward‐thinking applications based on satellite navigation. The winners, which will be announced at a ceremony as part of the Estonian Space Week in Tallinn, Estonia, in November, will share in this year’s prize pool of more than EUR 1 million and will benefit from the ESNC’s unparalleled support network, including the ESA Business Incubation Centres and the brand new E-GNSS Accelerator, co-funded by the European Commission.

Speaking at the kick-off ceremony, Andreas Veispak, Head of the European Commission’s Space Data for Societal Challenges and Growth Unit, noted that the EU had invested a lot of money in satellites, and now stakeholders, including Member States, were looking for a return on this investment. “This can only be yielded through satellite applications that are of use to end users in the public and private sectors,” he said.

Return on investment

This is where the ESNC plays a key role. Since 2004, the Competition has been fast-tracking the most ground-breaking ideas for Galileo-related applications across Europe and beyond and transforming them into market-ready products and new ventures. Each year, the Competition helps promote over 400 business ideas and has already awarded prizes to more than 300 winners over the years, which represent just a fraction of the more than 3,700 innovative concepts submitted by over 11,000 participants.

Also read: KYNEO project moves closer to commercialisation

With an impressive prize pool of over EUR 1 million, the 2017 edition of Competition will give entrepreneurs and start-ups with services, products or business ideas that use satellite navigation in everyday life access to more than 160 space-related stakeholders and allow them to benefit from support from over 40 incubators and the expertise of more than 250 experts.

The EU at 60: Special 2017 Prize for Space & Europe!

As a special focus, this year GSA will present a prize for the most promising application idea focussing on how Galileo and EGNOS help support European Integration. Now that Galileo is delivering Initial Services, Reinhard Blasi, Market Development Officer at the European GNSS Agency (GSA), noted at the ceremony, the focus is shifting from not only embracing EGNOS on a European level, but Galileo on a global level. “Since December 2016 we have gone from deployment to delivering services, which means that today users can benefit from Galileo now,” he said. “In light of the 60th anniversary of the EU, and a milestone year when Galileo is operational, following the December 2016 Declaration of Initial Services, we want to raise the awareness of how EU investment in space is concretely benefiting Europeans and will continue to in untold ways for many years to come.”

Watch this: Europe for space, space for Europe

E-GNSS Accelerator

The ESNC winners can also benefit from the new ‘E-GNSS Accelerator’. This programme is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and start-ups to boost their business case on a broad scale and bring their products and services to market. The E-GNSS Accelerator will run for three years and will directly support the winners of the ESNC 2017, 2018 and 2019. As a result, the participants will receive even more prizes and services worth an additional EUR 500,000.

For more information on the ESNC, including all relevant information on prizes, partners, and terms of participation, visit the Competition’s official website: www.esnc.eu. Information on the Copernicus Masters can be found here: www.copernicus-masters.com.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

From 1 April to 30 June 2017, the European Satellite Navigation Competition (known as the ‘Galileo Masters’), the largest international competition for the innovative use of satellite navigation, will be scouting for outstanding ideas and business models to put on the fast track.

The European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) was launched, along with the Copernicus Masters, the leading innovation platform for commercial Earth observation applications, at a joint international kick-off event hosted by the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the EU in Brussels, on 5 April 2017.

From now until June 30, ESNC will be searching for the most forward‐thinking applications based on satellite navigation. The winners, which will be announced at a ceremony as part of the Estonian Space Week in Tallinn, Estonia, in November, will share in this year’s prize pool of more than EUR 1 million and will benefit from the ESNC’s unparalleled support network, including the ESA Business Incubation Centres and the brand new E-GNSS Accelerator, co-funded by the European Commission.

GSA Market Development Officer Reinhard Blasi introduces the GSA Prize.

Speaking at the kick-off ceremony, Andreas Veispak, Head of the European Commission’s Space Data for Societal Challenges and Growth Unit, noted that the EU had invested a lot of money in satellites, and now stakeholders, including Member States, were looking for a return on this investment. “This can only be yielded through satellite applications that are of use to end users in the public and private sectors,” he said.

Return on investment

This is where the ESNC plays a key role. Since 2004, the Competition has been fast-tracking the most ground-breaking ideas for Galileo-related applications across Europe and beyond and transforming them into market-ready products and new ventures. Each year, the Competition helps promote over 400 business ideas and has already awarded prizes to more than 300 winners over the years, which represent just a fraction of the more than 3,700 innovative concepts submitted by over 11,000 participants.

Also read: KYNEO project moves closer to commercialisation

With an impressive prize pool of over EUR 1 million, the 2017 edition of Competition will give entrepreneurs and start-ups with services, products or business ideas that use satellite navigation in everyday life access to more than 160 space-related stakeholders and allow them to benefit from support from over 40 incubators and the expertise of more than 250 experts.

The EU at 60: Special 2017 Prize for Space & Europe!

As a special focus, this year GSA will present a prize for the most promising application idea focussing on how Galileo and EGNOS help support European Integration. Now that Galileo is delivering Initial Services, Reinhard Blasi, Market Development Officer at the European GNSS Agency (GSA), noted at the ceremony, the focus is shifting from not only embracing EGNOS on a European level, but Galileo on a global level. “Since December 2016 we have gone from deployment to delivering services, which means that today users can benefit from Galileo now,” he said. “In light of the 60th anniversary of the EU, and a milestone year when Galileo is operational, following the December 2016 Declaration of Initial Services, we want to raise the awareness of how EU investment in space is concretely benefiting Europeans and will continue to in untold ways for many years to come.”

Watch this: Europe for space, space for Europe

E-GNSS Accelerator

The ESNC winners can also benefit from the new ‘E-GNSS Accelerator’. This programme is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and start-ups to boost their business case on a broad scale and bring their products and services to market. The E-GNSS Accelerator will run for three years and will directly support the winners of the ESNC 2017, 2018 and 2019. As a result, the participants will receive even more prizes and services worth an additional EUR 500,000.

For more information on the ESNC, including all relevant information on prizes, partners, and terms of participation, visit the Competition’s official website: www.esnc.eu. Information on the Copernicus Masters can be found here: www.copernicus-masters.com.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).