BioPark Regensburg organises Innovation Prize for 2013

The three prizes each to the value of 2,000 Euro will be awarded to inventors at universities and organisations external to universities with excellent, innovative ideas. Awards will be given for application-oriented themes from research in life sciences with strong potential to be put into action. This should bring to light for the public the strength of achievement of the ideas from the life sciences. The task of the competition is to not only bring the wider population closer to this excellent research in Germany, but also to the practical uses of biotechnology. Last but not least with a total of 6,000 Euro allocated for prizes, this should promote the transfer of knowledge, new technology and inventions from research into entrepreneurial utilization. The Innovation Prize motivates scientists to introduce their inventions as technology or products into the business world. This means sustainable solutions are created through transfer of technology.

The Council of the German Bioregions came into being in 2004. It represents a collection of currently 30 local organisations that are active in the field of biotechnology and these innovative sectors promote their respective regions. Since 2007 the Managing Director of the BioPark in Regensburg, Dr. Thomas Diefenthal, has been one of the three elected spokespersons. Since 2009 the Council has been a member of the Federal Association of BIO Deutschland e.V. with headquarters in Berlin. This provides support to the Association in lobby work for key technologies in the 21st century. Since 2010 BIO Deutschland and the Council with the support of Ministry for Education and Research have been organising the yearly German Biotechnology Meetings, a leading conference in this field in Germany. Conference and innovation prize are organised respectively by a bioregion.

In 2013 BioPark Regensburg is to organise the innovation prize. The Bioregion of Regensburg is the second largest biotechnology region in Bavaria with 45 companies and 3,000 employees. The Innovation Centre located on the grounds of the University of Regensburg is, with 18,000 m2 and 35 leaseholders, the second largest of its type in the state following Martinsried. With funding from the City of Regensburg, the State of Bavaria, Germany and the EU, the established centre has become an important source of impulse for biotechnology and the life sciences in the region. The BioPark has successful companies such as Geneart AG, today part of the US Company Life Technologies, and companies such as Amgen Research GmbH located in Bavaria.

As a municipal company of the City of Regensburg the promotion of start-up companies has been and is an essential aspect of business in the BioPark. Since 1999 the BioPark has been partner and juror in the Businessplan Competition for North Bavaria and supports technology transfer and career days at the University of Regensburg. With the support of regional sponsors such as S-Refit AG, Bayern Kapital and the Patent Attorneys’ Offices Dehmel & Bettenhausen and Vereenigde located in the BioPark, the Innovation Prize will now be organised from Regensburg in 2003. Further sponsors are High-Tech Gründerfonds, the newspaper Zeitschrift BIO spektrum and Deutsche Messe AG. Application forms are immediately available as download (see below), closing date is 15.02.2013. The award ceremony is to take place on the German biotechnology days 2013 from 14. to 15. May in Stuttgart.

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