Second Edition of BASF-ICIQ Awards in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (2023)
Applications for the second edition of the BASF-ICIQ Awards in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, jointly organized by BASF and the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ-CERCA), are now open. The two organizations have been collaborating for years on projects related to the promotion of scientific research in the field of chemistry. With this new call, they seek to reward the most innovative projects.
The prizes will consist of three different categories:
First, the best doctoral thesis in any applied science or in industry challenges will be awarded. The objective in this category is to recognize doctoral theses within the area of chemistry with a high level of quality and will have an economic endowment of € 2,500. The requirements to qualify for the prize for the best thesis are to have read and publicly defended the doctoral thesis in a Spanish or Portuguese university during the last three years and to have published at least one article in a recognized scientific journal, derived from the doctoral thesis and to have stated the affiliation of the university in question.
The second category of the awards will be the one that will recognize the best patent, in order to recognize the most relevant scientific-technological advances that demonstrate a knowledge transfer activity, patented in Spain or Portugal in recent years. This prize will consist of a diploma and an economic endowment of € 2,500. For this, it will be necessary that the patent in question is focused within a delimited technological scope and that it is already published and filed during the last 10 years (for patents of IPOs and universities) or in the last 5 years (for patents of companies).
Finally, the third category will reward entrepreneurs, recognizing the trajectory and effort of companies and young people with great potential in the field of chemistry. This prize will be endowed with € 4,000 and to achieve it the companies that opt for it must be constituted as a legal entity for profit (S.A, S.L, Sociedad Laboral, Cooperativas, Sociedad Civil) and have fiscal address within the peninsula, have started their activity within the last 5 years and be a small or medium company.
Candidatures can be submitted until Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 2 p.m. (CET), and can be submitted to several categories.
All the details can be consulted in the following bases:
2023 Call
Objective
The call for the BASF-ICIQ Awards in Innovation and Entrepreneurship aims to recognize those projects or research that contribute or have the potential to contribute substantially to the transfer of knowledge in Spain and Portugal, with special attention to those projects aligned with the challenges of industry or any applied science.
1) BASF-ICIQ 2023 Award for the best doctoral thesis in any applied science or in industry/innovation challenges
The aim of the BASF-ICIQ Award for the best doctoral thesis in any applied science or in industry/innovation challenges is to recognise doctoral theses within the area of chemistry with a high level of quality.
The prize will consist of a diploma and an economic endowment of € 2,500 (two thousand five hundred euros).
Eligibility requirements for the prize
- Have read and publicly defended the doctoral thesis at a university from Spain or Portugal during the last three years, from January 1, 2020 until the closing of this call.
- Have published a minimum of one article in a recognized scientific journal, derived from the doctoral thesis and have stated the affiliation of the university in question.
Submission of candidatures
The presentation of candidatures will be made through the following procedure:
- Each nomination will be submitted by only one person.
- The submission of a nomination for the prizes will consist of:
- A video explanation (in Catalan, Spanish or English) of a maximum duration of two minutes of the merits of the candidate for which they are worthy of the prize.
- An abbreviated CV of the candidate (in Catalan, Spanish or English) with a maximum length of two pages. The Research ID and ORCID codes must be included.
- Copy of the doctor’s degree or proof of issue.
Applications will be processed by email to premis@iciq.cat
The deadline for submitting candidatures will end on May 3, 2023 at 2 p.m. (CET)
For the winner
The awards ceremony will be in person, early in June, in the Auditorium of the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (Tarragona, Spain). Details of the day and time will be informed in advance.
During the ceremony, the video presented in the candidacy will be shown.
The economic endowment will be subject to the corresponding IRPF.
2) BASF-ICIQ 2023 Award for the best patent
The objective of the BASF-ICIQ Award for the best patent is to recognize the most relevant scientific-technological advances that demonstrate a knowledge transfer activity, patented in Spain or Portugal in recent years.
The prize will consist of a diploma and an economic endowment of € 2,500 (two thousand five hundred euros).
Eligibility requirements for the prize
- That the company, public research center, university or natural person inventor of the patent has its fiscal address in Spain or Portugal.
- That the patent in question is focused within a delimited technological scope: sustainable chemical processes, circular economy and recovery of waste and / or biomass, chemical approaches to renewable energy or materials.
- That the patent is already published and filed during the last 10 years (for patents of IPOs and universities) or in the last 5 years (for company patents).
Submission of candidatures
For the category for best patent, the candidacy can be presented by an entity (company, university, etc.), and both the diploma and the economic endowment will go in the name of the company or university in case of being the winner.
The presentation of candidatures will be made through the following procedure:
- A video explanation (in Catalan, Spanish or English) of a maximum duration of two minutes of the merits of the inventors of the company, OPI or university for which it is worthy of the prize.
- The video should explain the purpose of the patent, the technology used and show the knowledge transfer of the patent.
- Description of the protected technology: (a) Problem solved by the invention; (b) Patent-protected technological solution; c) Impact of technology (social impact, scientific impact, technological impact, economic impact)
- Submission of the following information:
- Name of patent owner
- Name of inventors
- Contact details (address, e-mail, telephone)
- Patent publication number
- Patent filing date
- Priority date
- Any associated scientific publications
- Optional: Support letters
Applications will be processed by email to premis@iciq.cat
The deadline for submitting candidatures will end on May 3, 2023 at 2 p.m. (CET).
For the winning candidacy
The awards ceremony will be in person, on early June 2023, in the Auditorium of the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (Tarragona, Spain). Details of the day and time will be informed in advance.
During the ceremony, the video presented in the candidacy will be shown.
In order to make the economic transfer of the prize, it is necessary for the winner to indicate all its tax information.
In addition, the winner will be requested to issue an invoice worth € 2,500 + VAT with the concept: “BASF-ICIQ Awards 2023: best patent” with the data indicated below:
Fundació Institut Català d’Investigació Química (ICIQ-CERCA)
Av. Països Catalans 16
43007 Tarragona (Spain)
CIF G43619550
3) BASF-ICIQ 2023 Award for Entrepreneurs
The objective of the BASF-ICIQ Award in Entrepreneurship is to recognize the trajectory and effort of young companies with great potential in the field of chemistry.
The prize will consist of a diploma and an economic endowment of € 4,000 (four thousand euros).
Eligibility requirements for the prize
- The company must be constituted as a legal entity for profit (S.A, S.L, Sociedad Laboral, Cooperativas, Sociedad Civil) and have tax address in Spain or Portugal.
- Have started their activity within the last 5 years (as of January 1, 2018).
- Be a small or medium-sized company. Those considered as “large companies” according to the European Commission will be excluded from the selection process.
Submission of candidatures
Each company can only submit one application to each category.
The presentation of candidatures will be made through the following procedure:
- A video explanation (in Catalan, Spanish or English) of a maximum duration of two minutes of someone acting as a representative of the company (preferably one of the founders) presenting the merits for which it is worthy of the award.
- Form 036 from Hacienda.
- Report in Catalan, Spanish or English (maximum length of two pages) describing the mission, vision and values of the company submitted for application.
- Economic report of the company or balance sheet of current situation.
- Abbreviated curriculum vitae of the founders of the company (maximum of two pages for each person).
Applications will be processed by email to premis@iciq.cat
The deadline for submitting candidatures will end on May 3, 2023 at 2 p.m. (CET).
For the winning candidacy
The awards ceremony will be in person, early in June 2023, in the Auditorium of the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (Tarragona, Spain). Details of the day and time will be informed in advance.
During the ceremony, the video presented in the candidacy will be shown.
In order to make the economic transfer of the prize, it is necessary that the winning company indicates all its tax information.
In addition, the company will be asked to issue an invoice worth € 4,000 + VAT with the concept: “BASF-ICIQ Awards 2023: best entrepreneurial project” with the data indicated below:
Fundació Institut Català d’Investigació Química (ICIQ-CERCA)
Av. Països Catalans 16
43007 Tarragona (Spain)
CIF G43619550
Composition of the jury
The jury that will deliberate to decide the awardees will be composed of representatives of the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia and BASF, as well as external people recognized within the field of industry.
Resolution
The jury will decide the winner in May 2023.
Awards Ceremony
The awards ceremony will take place the first half of June in a public ceremony in the auditorium of the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ-CERCA), located at Avenida Països Catalans, 16, 43007 Tarragona (Spain). Details of the day and time will be informed in advance.
Further information
Please contact premis@iciq.cat