289 ideas from 30 countries for the European Satellite Navigation Competition 2009

The 6th European Satellite Navigation Competition came to a close last week with 289 complete submissions for the most innovative potential applications in the field of satellite-aided navigation. 18 global high-tech regions participated in the challenge of originating the competition's overall winner - the GALILEO Master 2009 - and received applications from 30 countries across all continents.

Leading all partner regions again this year in terms of numbers of ideas received was Taiwan followed by the United Kingdom and the German regions of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. Which region will put forth the GALILEO Master will be decided at the end of September, when representatives from all the regional expert teams and the expert panels of the special topic sponsors will meet in Stevenage/United Kingdom, the winning region from 2008. In total 18 regional winners and eight special topic winners will compete for the prestigious award.

The goal of the European Satellite Navigation Competition is to realise submitted ideas in cooperation with business incubation centres in its partner regions leading to around 20 foundations of enterprises and 40 development projects per year. In addition to the regional challenges sponsors from research and industry have joined the competition in search for specific solutions and innovative approaches. T-Systems, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), NAVTEQ, the Communidad de Madrid and SatNav MIT Baden-Württemberg this year have been looking for topics such as eHealth, location based services, transport & logistics, safety-of-life, or EGNOS, Europe's differential system for GPS. Of all those submitting ideas, more than 80 per cent also applied for consideration for one of these special topic prizes.

The solutions submitted will be evaluated by around 150 industry and research experts from all over the world before the overall winner is nominated at the end of September. The regional and special topic prize winners, as well as the GALILEO Master, will be announced at a state reception hosted at the Munich Residenz by the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport, and Technology, Martin Zeil, on October 21. In addition the GALILEO Master will have the opportunity to present his idea at the Navigation Summit on October 22, taking place in line with the first discuss&discover conference in Munich. Keynotes will also include presentations from ESNC sponsors NAVTEQ, T-Systems and GSA.


Press contact:
Ulrike Daniels
Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen
Friedrichshafenerstr. 1
82205 Gilching
Germany
Phone: +49(0)8152-9099047
daniels@anwendungszentrum.de


Facts and data on the European Satellite Navigation Competition

The European Satellite Navigation Competition is an international innovation contest that awards the best ideas for applications in satellite navigation. The competition has been organised by Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen since 2004 and is oriented toward companies, entrepreneurs, research institutes, universities, and private individuals. Having begun with three partner regions, this year's ESNC will be held in 18 high-tech regions all over the world: Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Nice / Sophia Antipolis, Prague, South Holland, Madrid, Lombardy, Australia, Taiwan, and Great Britain, as well as newcomers Øresund, Gipuzkoa, Valencia, Switzerland, and Israel.

The ESNC is intended to further strengthen international collaboration among these regions, particular with regard to the development of applications and services made possible by the European satellite navigation system Galileo. The competition is held under the patronage of the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology and is supported by Messe München GmbH. The main winners of the ESNC - the GALILEO Master, the special prize winners, and the 18 regional winners - will be recognised at a state reception to be held at the Munich Residenz on October 21, 2009.

www.galileo-masters.eu


About discuss & discover

discuss & discover is an international event for the ICT industry that predominantly addresses the uppermost echelon of executives and employees in management positions in small and medium-sized companies, international corporations, research organizations and trade associations. It is a B2B event that focuses on theme worlds that are redefined each year. These theme worlds are reflected in discuss & discover's six modules, which partners, exhibitors and visitors can order and combine with absolute flexibility. They include a theme-oriented exhibition, an international conferences, a public forum, corporate events such as company exhibitions and partner conferences, social events and an extensive online platform. As far as content is concerned, discuss & discover focuses on the most important trends and strategies that pertain to the use of information and communications technologies in companies and organizations of every size. As a result, it gives the industry Europe's most flexible platform for information, communications and networking.

discuss & discover will celebrate its premiere at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre from October 20 - 22, 2009. discuss & discover's online elements are available at http://en.discuss-discover.com/ 365 days a year.


About the title sponsor T-Systems

With a global infrastructure of computer centers and networks, T-Systems operates information and communications technology (ICT) for multinational corporations and public institutions. On this basis, Deutsche Telekom's corporate-customer unit offers integrated solutions for the connected future of business and society. Some 46,000 employees combine industry expertise and ICT innovations to add noticeable value to their customers' core business all over the world. T-Systems generated revenue of around EUR 11 billion in the 2008 financial year.

www.t-systems.com