PAU Innovation Challenge

04/24/2020 | PAU

In this exceptional and serious world health crisis of the COVID-19, be assured that PAU, in all its constituent parts, is dedicating its dynamics around an essential objective: ensuring the continuity of our core activities while preserving the health of all.

PAU Innovation Challenge

COVID-19 Health Crisis

The circumstance of this global pandemic has led not only to a delay in all sectors but to a total halt in some others. Pan African University, in its commitment to the African Union and its pursuit of a United Africa, engages itself in providing support in the resolutions to the COVID-19 impacts.

In this aim and after several adjustments, the PAU Innovation Challenge has been adapted, maintained and evolves according to the world health crisis. Therefore, PAU strives more than ever to go ahead with the Innovations Challenge during this health crisis through a set of adjustments.

First, the schedule has been revised in accordance both to the academical calendar and to the current world’s situation. In this frame, a basis of the PAU Innovation Challenge will be online-driven. Only the final pitching-event itself will be presential and will occur at the end of 2020. The final date will be communicated soon enough have you ready for this first and outstanding ceremony.

The PAU Innovation Challenge is aiming to raise your awareness about innovation and entrepreneurship at PAU and to give you the opportunities to share creative ideas by getting the support to develop a quality-driven business concept and planning. This way and from now on, entrepreneurial projects proposing an answer to the impacts of COVID-19 are encouraged and will be of great appreciation. Your energy as a Pan-African student as well as your entrepreneurial skills are highly valorized, appreciated and mobilized in this frame.

Call for proposals

Introduction

The Pan African University PAU (www.pau-au.africa) is steadily committed to offer high-end courses and trainings and support its students in activities to develop market-oriented competences. The aim is to enable them to successfully address current technological and societal challenges on the African continent. Thus, the ability to utilize academic knowledge proposing new solutions and contributing to the economic, cultural, environmental and social development of Africa is vital to fulfil the social responsibilities of PAU.

The PAU Entrepreneurship Hub aims at providing PAU students with necessary skills, incubation, mentoring and seed funding through a panel of events in collaboration with different partners. PAU students get entrepreneurial support in the hub to create innovative projects contributing to the entire continent, as they make knowledge applicable to serve the goal of transforming Africa as envisaged by the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063.

Innovation is the translation of an idea into a good product, service or project with an added value for the customer. In this spirit, PAU invites all current PAU students and alumni to submit proposals for the PAU Innovation Challenge. The intention is to support PAU student teams to concretize startup ideas reflecting technological or social innovations. This invitation addresses all students and alumni from all four PAU Institutes.

Scope of the competition:

All subjects related to the Pan African University’s research fields in alignment with the AU Agenda 2063.

Application process

To apply, you will need to fill out an online form with the questions below. The application must be submitted 2 times. See further explanation below. The link to the online form is:

https://www.soscisurvey.de/PAUInnovationChallenge2020/

Moreover, you need to send us a video of maximum 1 minute explaining your idea. The video can be uploaded through the following link:

https://cloud.conoscope.de/u/d/68209e24b996485495ff/

Upload password is: pau12345

(Please name your video file before uploading it as the following: “PAU Institute_name of team member” e.g. “PAUWES_Jane Doe”) otherwise, we may not be able to match the video to your application).

You will be asked to fill a form authorizing the use of the Team candidates’ image by PAU.

The questions that you will have to answer are:

Team presentation:

Applicant’s Name (team coordinator): / Gender:
Applicant’s PAU Institute:
Applicant’s Degree Program:
Applicant’s Email:
Applicant’s WhatsApp Number:
Studying statues: Student Alumni
Name of team members: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. / Gender:
CVs of team members (less than 4 MB):

Technical Questions: (Always give your reason)

What is the name of your idea?
Please provide a short summary of your idea (max. 250 characters including spaces).
As a business which problem does your idea solve for Africa’s sustainable development (max. 2,500 characters)? Please describe the problem and its effects on the potential customer.
How do your potential customers currently solve the described problem (max. 2,000 characters)? Please describe which solutions are currently available.
What is your solution of the problem (max. 2,500 characters)? Please describe your own solution and how it differentiates from the other ones.
What is your target market (max. 2,000 characters)?
What is your model of marketing and distribution? (max. 1,500 characters)
What kind of profiles and skills do you need in your team? (max. 1,000 characters)
What costs do you expect for investment and running costs during the next 5 years? (max. 1,000 characters)

Who can apply?

All current PAU students and alumni. Application of teams of at least two persons and up to five persons are accepted.

Award’s Process:

Please find the award's process here

Selection Process:

A committee from diverse backgrounds and disciplines will screen the applications and develop a shortlist of approximately 8 teams, who will be invited to pitch their idea in Tlemcen, Algeria.

What do we offer?

All participants of the competition will gain access to online training videos to guide them to develop a coherent business model. Additionally, they will get a chance to receive direct coaching from a German business consulting company.
Selected teams will be invited to pitch their ideas in an international event in Tlemcen, Algeria (Pitch Event). The award’s Organizers will cover all travel and accommodation costs for 2 participants per team.
Selected teams will obtain an international certification supported by a German institution, the prestigious University of Leipzig.
Selected teams will receive individual feedback to their final business model, in order to elaborate it to a decent business plan, which will facilitate the business establishment.
In addition to that, the winners will receive incubation and financial package.

Application Deadline

You may start applying from 27.04.2020 on Pitching Event landing page: www

Review Deadline for all applications is 14.06.2020 at 00:00 UCT.

Final deadline for all applications is 14.07.2020 at 00:00 UCT.

Important information:

Each person can be part of only one application. Double mentions of names will lead to automatic disqualification and non-consideration of applications.
All team members must be PAU students or alumni.
Only one person of the team must submit the application, who will be the coordinator of the team.
All teams must submit their applications 2 times (mandatory), first time before the review deadline on 14.06.2020. The second time is the final version, after revising their applications according to the coaching, before the final deadline on 14.07.2020. The same thing for the videos.
It would be favorable to have a team with mixed gender (not mandatory)

The organisers of the PAU Innovation Challenge would like to assure that the applications will be handled in high confidential manners. No data will be sold, reused or disclosed to a third party, except for the people involved in the organisation and selection of winners. All data will be deleted after the final ceremony event.

Contact :

For questions, please refer to the contact person at your institute: