- The event pitch for startups and judges is scheduled for December 4th
- A $100,000 prize in services and a global market entry path through the NTT DATA network are up for grabs
- It will be possible to register up to 20th November
Cluj Napoca, 7 October 2020
Registrations are now open for the eleventh edition of the NTT DATA Open Innovation Contest. The Japanese multinational company, leader in IT services, opens the selections to the most innovative startups to propose revolutionary solutions in the Information Technology field. For the first time, European startups are admitted in the the Italian leg, scheduled to take place virtually on December 4th.
NTT DATA, through the Open Innovation Contest, intends to develop an ecosystem among the most innovative entrepreneurial entities. The eleventh edition, in particular, aims to promote the creation of new businesses at a global level, in rapidly growing sectors.
The startup that wins the Italian leg will have access to the world final in Tokyo, for which NTT DATA will make available a prize of up to $100,000 worth in services to develop an innovative business along with the company. In addition, the winner will be able to rely on the support of a dedicated team of consultants, experts in e-business technology who will work side by side with the startup. NTT DATA will also help activate contacts for finalists and winners by drawing on its client base and professional networks.
The pandemic has confronted technology with new challenges, requiring tools to interact more and more realistic, inclusive and pervasive. That's why this year's Contest focuses on how to make technology increasingly "transparent" and human-friendly.
“Whilst restrictions are being lifted partially in some places and travel is still limited, we are happy to announce that this year we decided to have a virtual edition of Open Innovation Contest. This competition is available for the first time to Eastern-European start-ups that are invited to push their limits and take their ambitious ideas to the next level. The winners have the possibility to actively enter a network of relations that will enable collaborations and help the start-ups hit the road” said Cantemir Mihu – CTO NTT DATA Romania.
Startups can submit a business proposal by choosing from five different challenges. The challenge "The Empath Computer" aims to make the digital experience more and more interactive in order to collect all kinds of feedback, from the degree of user attention to the user's state of mind, for greater customization. The "Digital Doc Trainer" aims to support the learning paths of medical students and trainees through technologies that exploit virtual reality for a digitized clinical training. Another option is "Transparent Technology: Augment Things!" in which startups can try their hand at developing an increasingly transparent technology by expanding the Internet of Things.
In the New Economy area, the challenge "The Digital Shop" seeks to introduce new solutions for online shopping aimed at the retail and communications markets, to virtually recreate the shopping experience in the shop but to the needs of all with a "phygital" approach. Finally, through the "A Place to Live In" challenge, startups will challenge themselves with the goal of transforming physical places into digital ecosystems for services for citizens 4.0.
Finally, the challenge "Smart Offer Creation in Manufacturing" looks for startups providing concrete, fast and effective solutions for the creation of structured commercial offers, available for various sectors such as construction, machine production and the manufacturing sector in general.
The Open Innovation Contest is a concrete opportunity for the startups that decide to compete, as witnessed by the success stories of the companies competing in the past editions.
Apply on NTT DATA Discovery, the platform where companies and startups can get in touch in a smart way thanks to Artificial Intelligence.
About NTT DATA Romania:
NTT DATA Romania is an IT services provider and system integrator, with a team of over 2,000 specialists in Romania and Serbia, delivering a variety of projects across diverse industries: Automotive, Banking, Manufacturing, Energy and Utilities, Public Sector & Utilities, Retail, Transportation & Logistics.