- Mindtech, the benchmark industrial and technological fair of the Iberian Pole, to be held in Vigo from 17 to 19 June, will host for the second time the MSE, a competition between the most innovative and disruptive startups.
- They are looking for emerging companies that provide solutions to challenges linked to three categories: the most disruptive startup; innovation in energy, logistics and environmental systems; and digital processes applied to industry.
- The jury is made up of executives from leading companies in the automotive, naval, aerospace, machinery-food and technology industries: Igape, Borgwarner, Navantia, Boeing, Jealsa, Altia and Grupo Nunsys.
- The call is open until 15 May. The finalist startups are eligible for prizes of €2,000 and will be able to present their project to potential investors at the MSE final, which will take place at the heart of the Mindtech fair.
MINDTECH STARTUP EVENT (MSE)
This year, the Mindtech Startup Event returns for its second edition. This competition is looking for startups with the most innovative ideas, which are able to transform the industry with a unique technological solution.
Enrique Mallón, Managing Director of the Mindtech fair, stressed that ‘the main objective of the MSE is to highlight the entrepreneurial fabric and offer a vehicle to promote the most innovative projects. We seek to promote open innovation, enabling startups to help established companies to solve different challenges that are fundamental for the industrial and technological sector, such as energy, logistics, the environment and digitisation’.
‘We are going to reward these companies financially, but above all with recognition that will help them to grow, to make themselves known and to use the Mindtech fair as a platform to expand their own business. The quality of the members of the jury, made up of large multinational companies that regularly collaborate with startups, will undoubtedly attract the interest of startups at national and international level,’ added Mallón.
‘The future of the industry will be built only through transformation and innovation, and that is precisely what we are looking for through this disruptive startup competition and from the Mindtech fair itself, which brings together the metal industry and all its associated technologies, in activities such as automotive, aerospace, security and defence, machinery, metal structures, renewable energies, supplies, but also engineering and the latest technologies’, conclude the organisers of the fair.
CATEGORIES
Mindtech, in collaboration with the Xunta de Galicia, is looking for startups that offer innovative solutions to three challenges linked to the current reality of the industrial and technological sector.
- Category 1: Most disruptive startup. Recognition of startups or entrepreneurial projects with an innovative value proposition in terms of business growth, new production models, new manufacturing materials, automation and digitalisation or disruptive processes.
- Category 2: Innovation in energy, logistics and environmental systems
- Award to startups with solutions that optimise energy consumption and promote the circular economy, as well as those that develop advanced technologies to transform mobility, safety and efficiency in the transport of goods and people, optimising the supply chain.
- Category 3: Digital processes applied to industry. Recognition for startups transforming the industry with technologies such as data analytics, deep learning, advanced robotics, cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence.
PHASES AND REQUIREMENTS
Applications for the competition are free of charge and the deadline is open until 15 May. All companies that meet the definition of a startup according to the new law on startups (article 3.1.a) are eligible to apply: startups or companies with less than five years of experience if their activity is general, or seven years for those specific to biotechnology, energy, industrial and other strategic sectors or that have developed their own technology in Spain.
Any company, whether or not it is an exhibitor in the startup zone of the fair, can participate.
Startups must submit their application via the application form, which must include a pitch deck and a video pitch.
The jury will select two finalists for each of the categories, who will be offered the opportunity to present their solution/project at the MSE final, which will take place on 18 June at the heart of the Mindtech fair. During the event, renowned experts from the international innovation and industry scene will be speaking.
AWARDS
The MSE offers a unique opportunity to boost the business capacity of startups, gain visibility and benefit from open innovation opportunities with the leading companies that will attend the final of the event. The winning companies in each of the categories will receive:
- Prize money of €2,000.
- Opportunity to present your business idea at Mindtech 2023.
- Maximum visibility and dissemination in local, regional and national media.
- Networking activity with investors, leading industrial companies and prominent industry benchmarks.
EXPERT JURY
The MSE will have a jury of eight experts of recognised prestige in the industrial and technological sector, executives from leading companies in the automotive, naval, defence, aerospace, machinery-food and technology industries.
- Igape: Fany Suárez, Deputy Director of Investments and Startups
- Borgwarner: Hugo Barreiro, Government Affairs
- Navantia: Carlos Blanco Seijo, Director of I+D+i
- Boeing: Alexandre Pazos, Systems Engineer
- Jealsa: Alejandro Dopazo – Industrial Coordinator
- Altia: Constantino Fernández, President
- Nunsys Group: Alberto Docampo, Technology Manager Industry Area
- Mindtech: Luz López y Alba De la Fuente, Innovation Department
STARTUP ARENA
The MSE has the support of the Xunta de Galicia through a collaboration agreement to promote technological transformation, innovation and the improvement of the competitiveness of the Galician productive fabric within the framework of the Mindtech fair.
In this sense, the fair promotes with the collaboration of the Xunta de Galicia a dedicated area for startups and innovation, the Mindtech Startup Arena. This is a specific exhibition space for 39 startups, incubators and accelerators of high technological level and with significant growth potential, which can opt for their own stand at very low prices, since the costs are financed and cover the reservation of land, all the production of the stand and basic furniture.
- 300 €/space for startups/entities from Galicia.
- 650 €/space for startups/entities from other regions or countries.
Startups can apply for their stand at reduced costs via the floor reservation form. Places are limited to 39 subsidised spaces and are granted on a first-come, first-served basis.