Ideas for Tallinnovation competition expected until August 23

City of Tallinn with Tehnopol Science Park invite businesses to submit ideas to the innovation competition Tallinnovation. Proposals for creating new smart city solutions or improving existing ones can be submitted until August 23.

Companies registered in Tallinn can participate in the innovation competition. The competition is open to ideas that offer viable alternatives to both existing and completely new smart city solutions. Those who submit the idea have the opportunity to receive financial support, pilot their project, receive contacts, advice and resources from the city, and use the support of the Tehnopol mentor network.

“We want to turn the Tallinn region into a smart and green economic centre in Northern Europe, with an excellent living environment and fast and comfortable connections,” said Aivar Riisalu, Deputy Mayor of Tallinn. “Our well-being is based on a knowledge-intensive economy, a good living environment and balanced development, which in turn relies on smart and creative people. That is why new solutions for the smart city are very necessary for us.”

“Tehnopol contributes to the creation, development and growth of state-of-the-art tech companies. The opportunity to test the innovation created in the real environment is an essential intermediate step to reach the first customers in the market,” says Indrek Orav, Member of the Management Board of Tehnopol. “We have decided to support companies by offering a test environment, and this has brought a high concentration of innovation to our city – smart crosswalks and street lights, road paving with solar panels, drawing and package robots, a self-service mini-shop, etc.”

According to Orav, last year’s competition showed that participation in the innovation fund will bring real benefits to companies, and it will hopefully inject a stir into this year’s candidates. Last year, 12 solutions qualified for the competition, from which the judges selected five most promising ideas. An overview of the selected works can be found here.

Evaluating for the competition takes place in two parts. First, applications are reviewed, additional information is requested, and applicants are contacted to find the best solutions. Second, the solutions that get selected are presented to a panel of innovation experts. Ideas that require both financial and non-financial contributions, such as testing e-solutions, data collection and the like, are welcome. The prize fund of Tallinnovation in 2021 is € 50,000.

Application is open from 12^th of May and solutions can be submitted until 23^rd of August. The advantage of submitting an idea early is the opportunity to get feedback to specify your application and receive additional knowledge. Read more about the competition and submit an application on the website: innovatsioonifond.tehnopol.ee