What was started in the Free State of Bavaria in 2004 has since matured into a global network for high-tech regions and international technical experts. The ESNC community now encompasses 23 regions, with more about to sign up in the weeks to come before the start of round seven.

The ESNC network is strongly geared towards the requirements of the industry and, together with the partner regions, has supported rapid implementation of the numerous product and service innovations generated in the past few years. The initiative also prides itself on having the support of the European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA) in stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe’s GNSS markets.

Under the patronage of the Bavarian State Ministry for Economics, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology, the Application Center for Satellite Navigation „Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen“ (AZO) planted the seed of this international ideas competition in 2004, aiming to trigger early development of applications based on satellite navigation systems available today (GPS, for example) that should gain a signifi cant enhancement from Galileo. With the special topic prizes sponsored by industrial and institutional partners, the ESNC has also established itself as a think tank for industryspecific needs: On average, 80% of all participants take the opportunity to submit their ideas for both regional evaluation and consideration for a special topic prize.

In 2010, the concept is continuing with challenges presented by the European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA); T-Systems; the European Space Agency (ESA); the German Aerospace Center (DLR); the world’s leading provider of digital maps, NAVTEQ, and the Forum SatNav MIT BW.

The GSA will award the most promising application idea exploiting the unique features of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). The title sponsor T-Systems will award the GMES Masters prize to the downstream application that makes the best use of GNSS and space- and groundbased communication infrastructures based on dynamic earth observation data. Meanwhile, the ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme is seeking innovative and creative business ideas with the potential for quick market implementation and high value capture using satellite navigation in non-space business environments. NAVTEQ is looking for the most innovative developments in the fi eld of navigation and location-based services for mobile devices.

Moreover, a special topic prize offered in cooperation with the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) – a user-driven innovation platform in real-life environments – is set to facilitate yet another step towards seamless integration of downstream GNSS application services. This GNSS Living Lab prize will primarily address applications related to the themes of health, energy, and media, and is supported by the FP7 project GAINS. In addition, the fi rst ESNC University Challenge will be launched with the support of the CIP project KIS4SAT and Awapatent AB, awarding a prize with a particular focus on students and young researchers involved in GNSS and its manifold application areas.

On 1st May 2010, the idea database for application innovations in satellite navigation will be opened for the seventh time at www.galileo-masters.eu. Participation in the European Satellite Navigation Competition is your chance to play a part in shaping the dynamic, growing market for navigation applications. We look forward to your application idea!

The GALILEO Masters team