For the first time the instrument, that gives finance of up to $ 26 million CLP to pre and post graduate theses, will count with resources provided by the Innovation Fund for Competitivity for the O’Higgins, Biobio and Los Ríos regions.
The National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research, CONICYT, through its Fondef Program, announces the call for the Fifth competition of Valorization of Investigation in University, VIU, instrument to which students attending their pre and post graduate courses and that are doing or have finalized their theses can apply, with the purpose of transforming these results in projects of entrepreneurship based in science.
Just like its earlier versions, The VIU competition grants up to $ 26 millions to the initiatives selected, amount that is adjudicated in two stages: business plan and execution of the working plan with the accordingly concretion of the entrepreneurship. Application starts wednesday 1st july and last until monday 31st august 2015.
In this opportunity not only CONICYT will give support to take forward the selected projects. The regional governments of O’Higgins, Biobío and Los Ríos, through the Innovation Fund for Competitivity (Regional FIC ), will support those initiatives that address tematics or strategic guidelines established on the competition bases to foment the zones of the country.
The interested students in applying to this competition must be sponsored by their university and count with a guide profesor that had participated as director, main researcher, responsible researcher, or co researcher of projects financed during the last five years by the programs Fondecyt, Fondef, Fonis, Fondap, PCI, Regional, Astronomy and PIA.
Can also apply as guide professors those researchers that are directing o had directed basic or applied research projects from funds of the State such as Corfo’s Innova Chile, FIA, Iniciativa Científica Milenio and Fondo de Innovación para la Competitividad; and those who had received financing for research projects in their respective universities.
In the other hand, applicants will be able to count with a business mentor (one or more people, for example, a technical support panel of multidisciplinary experts), that will support them in the development of prototypes, facilitate the implementation of a a business model or well support the access to the market according to the stage of development of their results.
Fondef-DuPont award
Just like in previous years, applicants will have special incentives like the Fondef-DuPont award, that gives a project presented in the first stage of the competition US$ 10 thousand plus a trip to the student and their guide professor to the center of research and development of the company in Brazil, where will be able to present their project to scientists and business and marketing professionals, who will give them orientation for the development of their business plans. To the foresaid two honorary mentions consisting on visits to the centers of research , development and production of the company located in Chile.
Apply to this competition
Source: Conicyt.cl