The Copernicus Masters innovation competition
New Ideas and Markets Emerging Based on Big Data from
Space
The Copernicus Masters competition is inviting
all interested participants to submit
outstanding ideas, applications, and business
concepts involving innovative uses of Earth
observation data by 13 July 2015. Along with
cash prizes, the winners will receive access to
a leading international network, corresponding
data, start-up funding, and other support
valued at more than EUR 300,000 in total.
The tremendous amounts of data produced by
the European Earth observation programme
The Copernicus Masters Cup
Copernicus and its Sentinel satellites hugely
Copyright: Anwendungszentrum GmbH
benefit science and public authorities and open
the door to countless products and
applications in a wide array of business
sectors. The European Space Agency (ESA)
and Anwendungszentrum GmbH
Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) have thus initiated
the Copernicus Masters competition to aid
visionary entrepreneurs in bringing their
innovations to market.
"Start-ups and SMEs in particular stand to
benefit from the virtually limitless scope of
the data Copernicus provides," affirms Prof
Sentinel-2A
Dr Volker Liebig, Director of Earth
Copyright: ESA/ATG medialab
Observation Programmes and Head of
ESRIN, European Space Agency (ESA). "The ideas submitted to previous editions of the
Copernicus Masters have already demonstrated this to impressive effect, as has the
constantly growing number of companies that are developing products and services
based on Earth observation data in ESA's business incubation programme."
These companies operate in a diverse range of fields, where they address subjects like
resource efficiency in agriculture, the construction industry, and renewable energy. The
Copernicus Masters, meanwhile, is also looking for new services and products in forwardthinking segments such as big data, cloud computing, crowdsourcing, data visualisation,
and mobile applications, to name just a few.
In this year's edition, prizes will be awarded in topic-specific challenges sponsored by a
number of world-class partners, including: ESA, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), TSystems International GmbH, Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd., Greece's National
Cadastre and Mapping Agency (NCMA), CloudEO AG, and European Space Imaging
GmbH. In addition, the new University Challenge specifically addresses students and
research assistants around the world.
Press contact: Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen, Lena Klemm, Friedrichshafener Str. 1,
82205 Gilching, Germany +49(0)8105-7727717 [email protected]
"We and our partners are offering the participants space for innovation in areas that are
already shaping the future – the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, smart cities, and
renewable energy, for example," states AZO managing director Thorsten Rudolph. "We
want to support them in realising their creative solutions to these global challenges."
"Taking part in the Copernicus Masters gave us the chance to make some key contacts
and gather valuable feedback," reports John Smedegaard, a co-founder of Ceptu, which
won the CloudEO Farming Challenge in 2014. "The whole process was a huge help in
advancing our idea and developing it into a commercial product through our new startup."
Experts from the realms of research and industry will be tasked with selecting the winner
of each challenge. The overall winner – the 2015 Copernicus Master – will receive (along
with their challenge prize) EUR 20,000 in cash and a satellite data package worth a
further EUR 60,000, which is being provided with the financial support of the European
Commission.
All of the winners will be announced this autumn and recognised as part of a festive
awards ceremony.
For all of the details on this year's prizes, partners, and terms of participation,
please visit www.copernicus-masters.com.
Additional information on the Copernicus programme is available at:
http://www.esa.int/copernicus & www.copernicus.eu
Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen – an experienced organiser
AZO has been carrying out the Copernicus Masters competition on behalf of ESA since
2011. By leveraging its extensive experience as a specialist in building and maintaining
global innovation networks and organising related competitions, the company supports
product innovations and the creation of new businesses, particularly in the field of
commercial aerospace applications. www.anwendungszentrum.de
Press contact: Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen, Lena Klemm, Friedrichshafener Str. 1,
82205 Gilching, Germany +49(0)8105-7727717 [email protected]