EVENT FOR STUDENTS.
The Philips Innovation Award is the biggest student entrepreneurship award in the Netherlands. It is meant for students who want to further develop their startups or ideas. Every contestant benefits from expert guidance, investor advice, training sessions, and workshops. For two decades, the Philips Innovation Award has given the stage to the most innovative start-ups. Now, it’s your chance to make your mark!
The Philips Innovation Award has become a trajectory from which each participant can profit. By participating you will get personal feedback, practice on soft and hard skills, receive coaching and build a network. To give all startups from different stages a fair chance there are two leagues: the Innovator and Rough Diamond league.
- Innovator League: The startup is classified as an Innovator if it is registered at the Kamer van Koophandel (Dutch Chamber of Commerce) before the 1st of October 2024, for the 2025 edition.
- Rough Diamond League: The startup is classified as Rough Diamond if it is not registered at the Kamer van Koophandel or has been registered at the Kamer van Koophandel after the 1st of October 2024, for the 2025 edition.
Who can participate?
Participation is open for (teams with) students with an innovative idea or startup. If you have already started a business, your business should be younger than 3 years. 75% of the team members must be aged 30 or younger on the 1st of October, 2024.
Read for more details: conditions for entry.
Participation trajectory
The Philips Innovation Award consists of four stages:
- Idea stage (September - December): In this stage you will start writing your business plan, using the guidelines that are provided. Your business plan will be reviewed by the business panel according to several criteria such as originality, sustainability and degree of innovation, and they will provide you with personal feedback. The thirty startups with the highest scores will make it to the next stage.
- Development stage (January - April): During this stage, 19 Innovators and 11 Rough Diamonds are selected to participate in the semi-final. First they will undergo a comprehensive program aimed at accelerating their growth. This includes personzalized coaching sessions with partners, workshops, and an exclusive Find Your Talent day where startups can scout potential collaborators.
- Refining stage (May-June): In this stage, the semi-final will take place. The 30 best teams will compete against each each other in the pitching rounds to secure a ticket for the final. At the end of the day, the jury will choose 5 Innovators and 3 Rough Diamonds to participate in the Grand Final. The eight finalists will fine-tune their ideas and presentations at the Pitching day. The finalists will additionally be brought in contact with mentors from our pool of scale-ups and past Philips Innovation Award finalists.
- Final stage (June): During the Grand Final, 5 Innovators and 3 Rough Diamonds will battle for a price worth €50.000 and €10.000, respectively. They will compete before a jury that includes industry leaders like Roy Jacobs, CEO of Philips. The only thing that separates the finalists from the grand prize is a three-minute pitch. The Grand Final takes place on the 17th of June 2025 in Theatre Rotterdam.
Registration
Got a groundbreaking business idea? Submit your business plan and join the next generation of innovators! The submission deadline is December 6th, 2024, and registration is free of charge!
For more information, visit the website.