I. Competition format:
1. Deadline: 12:00 PM US ET on December 28, 2017 Online applications submitted.
2. January 2018: Applications reviewed by GIST Tech-I Alumni Mentors.
3. January/February 2018: Three applications from each Alumni Mentor will be voted on by the online global public.
4. April 16-19, 2018: Finalists attend the Global Entrepreneurship Congress.
5. April 16, 2018: Finalists pitch in front of judges for seed capital prizes.
6. April 2018: Finalists travel all-expenses paid to Turkey for one-day of in-person training.
II. Competition Overview:
The GIST Technology Idea (Tech-I) Competition is an annual competition for science and technology (S&T) entrepreneurs from 136 emerging economies around the world. The competition is part of the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) initiative, led by the U.S. Department of State. The GIST Tech-I Competition is implemented by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This year, the competition will challenge former GIST Tech-I finalists (GIST Tech-I Alumni) to lead and mentor the next generation of tech entrepreneurs in their countries and regions. A select group of GIST Tech-I Alumni, called Alumni Mentors, will solicit and help select science and technology entrepreneurs with either an idea or startup in their region to join them at the 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) in Istanbul, Turkey to pitch their idea or startup.
GIST Tech-I Alumni Mentors will solicit applications from new science and technology entrepreneurs globally to participate in the GIST Tech-I Competition over a month-long application period. At the end of that month, Alumni Mentors will review the submitted applications and nominate to AAAS three top applicants as semi-finalists to enter a voting phase.
Semi-finalists will participate in online public voting on GISTNetwork.org to determine which will go on as finalists. The ten semi-finalists that receive the top voting totals, and the GIST Tech-I Alumni Mentors who solicited those applications will go to the GIST Tech-I Finals where they will receive training, attend GEC, and have the opportunity to pitch their idea or startup to win capital seed funds.
III. Eligibility Requirements for Applicant
Applicants must meet ALL of the following eligibility requirements:
1. The applicant must be 18-40 years old on the application deadline, December 28, 2017.
2. The applicant must be a Libyan citizen.
3. The applicant must not hold dual-citizenship or permanent resident status in a non-GIST economy.
4. The applicant must not submit more than one application per GIST Tech-I competition year.
5. The applicant must not be a previous GIST Tech-I finalist who traveled to and competed in the GIST Tech-I Finals at GES.
In addition to meeting the applicant requirements above, applications must to be for Ideas or Startups that met ALL of the following requirements:
1. The application must be the original work of the Idea or Startup applicant.
2. The Idea or Startup must be developing an innovative science or technology solution with market potential in a GIST-eligible economy.
3. The Idea or Startup must be for-profit. Applications from non-profit ventures or NGOs are not eligible and will not be reviewed.
4. The Startup must be less than three years old.
5. The Idea or Startup must be, at least in part based, in a GIST-eligible economy.
6. The Idea or Startup must be developing or selling products and services that use its own innovations in science and technology. Applications from organizations that buy and resell technologies will not be reviewed.
7. The Idea or Startup must not submit more than one application per GIST Tech-I competition year.
Do you still have questions about eligibility? Check out this page or contact tech-i@gistnetwork.org
VI.. How to apply?
Prospective applicants will go to GISTNetwork.org to apply
• The applicant will complete a standard application form and will select an Alumni Mentor to work with should they be selected to continue in the competition.
• The GIST Tech-I Application consists of:
o A 100-word short summary of your project, to be used on the public voting website, if your project advances to semifinals. Your short summary must be in English.
o Brief eligibility questions.
o Responses to several questions that address the Judging Criteria listed in section VII here. Each response is limited to 100 to 150-words. All responses must be in English.
o A 90-second pitch video in English or with English subtitles provided. Formats accepted include.MOV, .MPEG4, .MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, .3GPP, and .WebM.
See examples from previous participants on YouTube. All application materials must be submitted through the online portal before the deadline.
Source:http://www.libya-businessnews.com/2017/12/19/new-competition-for-libyan-entrepreneurs/
