NGI EXPLORERS’ AWARDS CEREMONY

On the 2nd February 2022, the NGI Explorer team celebrated the end of its fellowship program with an award ceremony to celebrate the outstanding achievements of its Explorers. The program was a great success within its purpose of bridging, expanding, and sustaining a cross-continent Research and Innovation collaboration with the USA.

The program to launch European Researchers and Innovators into Technology Expeditions to the USA

3 or 5-month

Expedition to the US

100%

Sponsorship Plan

Mentorship

Program

Our Explorers will gain the skills and build the networks to transform the Next Generation Internet

The program

NGI Explorers provides Europe's Top researchers and innovators an immersive experience in the United States

3 or 5-Month
missions to the US

Work directly with a US partner to accelerate your project

100%
Sponsorship Plan

Financial support to cover your expenses

Mentorship
Program

A coach will give direct support throughout the expedition

Mission

Explorers will get immersed in a 3 or 5-month deep dive into the United States to accelerate their projects and cultivate an American mindset. This will be a unique opportunity to strengthen and articulate their ideas while building traction among a whole new network of partners and customers.

Participants will be hosted by US partners, integrating the Explorers in their teams and supporting them in their endeavors.

Sponsorship plan

Financial support for travel and subsistence in the US will be 100% sponsored through public grants, thanks to the Next Generation Internet initiative defined by the European Commission

Europe’s most powerful network of Internet leaders

The program brings the opportunity to connect with an unrivaled environment of excellence. A flourishing community of Explorers with multiple backgrounds and the potential to become drivers of change for the Next Generation of Internet. The opportunity to create synergies with other like-minded participants of the program to share experiences, collaborate and even create new partnerships.

Acceleration

The expeditions will be complemented with a portfolio of services to boost the roll-out of disruptive products.

→ Pre-Immersion Week

Before heading to the US, Explorers will gather in a location in Europe (tentatively London, Porto or Barcelona) to receive several masterclasses on the NGI Vision, introduction to business development and modelling, pitch training, concepts on Lean Startup methodology, marketing communication, American culture and way-of-living… but most importantly, this will be an extraordinary opportunity for the participants to meet each other and start building up relationships.

→ Mentoring

Explorers will always be assigned a coach to give direct support and spur them throughout the expedition. The mentor will be the direct link between the Explorer and the program and will have the responsibility to guide, provide feedback, motivate, understand and challenge the Explorer.

→ Business Development

Opportunities for public and private funding schemes and business development will be created for the most promising ideas.

→ Competition

Become the best among the best! The program will recognize the Top Explorers at the end of each batch with an Awards Ceremony - the NGI Oscars.

Focus Areas

Next Generation Internet is a concept that involves a broad spectrum of emerging technologies. A list of technological trends that will thoroughly reshape the Internet over the next 10-15 years.

The following Focus Areas have been defined in alignment with the vision of the European Commission. Applicants are encouraged to match their ideas with one or several of these topics.

Application options

Participants will have the flexibility to choose among 3 different collaboration schemes. All ideas must fall under one or several Focus Areas defined in the Next Generation Internet

Open Ideas

Applicants can submit a
proposal around their ideas, products and services. The program will find the best US node to boost it.

Challenge

Applicants can submit a proposal
to a challenge defined by a US Node,
taking into consideration their specific priorities for collaboration

Paired Teams

Applicants can submit a
proposal to advance their ideas along with a specific US partner of their organization

Eligibility

Applicants must be employees of a European “legal entity” (limited to: startups, SMEs, mid-caps, research centres or academia) under the European Commission regulations.

A successful applicant must fall under one of the following categories:

Researchers

Innovators

Candidate requirements

A valid passport holder
An employee of a European/H2020 associated countries/OCT ⁽¹⁾ legal entity under the EC regulations ⁽²⁾
A top researcher and/or innovator in any of the NGI Focus Areas
Proficiency in English, both written and spoken
Eligible to receive a U.S. J-1 visa

All selected applicants will sign a sub-grantee agreement between the individual, the NGI Explorers Program and the European organization they are employees at.

^{(1) OCT stands for Overseas Countries and Territories linked to EU Member States.}
^{(2) Limited to: universities, research centres, mid-caps, SMEs and startups.}

Selection Criteria

The program will follow a rigorous selection process to select only exceptional candidates, coming from a range of industry backgrounds and specialties.

Applications will be evaluated by external experts. The selection criteria will be based on 3 main aspects:

Excellence
of the candidate

Quality
of the project

Impact
of the idea

Success for us means to facilitate the best possible match between an Explorer’s profile and the specific challenge position at US Node - a win-win situation for all parties involved.

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