1. Introduction

AIIA intends to distinguish, promote and support the technological talent while reinforcing Altice as an innovative company.

2. Scope

The aim of the initiative is to award projects from finalist students and startups in the incubation phase, who present innovative projects in technological areas relevant to Altice International’s core business.

Under the partnership between AIIA and Fundação Altice Portugal, this year’s edition is promoting the “Inclusive by Fundação Altice Portugal” initiative. This initiative promotes good digital inclusion practices, particularly in the school, professional and social contexts, providing a set of services, solutions, and technological initiatives for people with disabilities.

Also in this year’s edition, similar to previous editions, as part of the partnership between Altice Labs and the National Innovation Agency (ANI), AIIA is promoting the Born From Knowledge (BfK) Awards, which aims to distinguish Portuguese “knowledge-born” projects, as well as Portuguese startups that stand out the most in R&D activities. More details are available here.

3. Eligibility

The AIIA initiative intends to recognize innovative projects, from two categories:

• Master or PhD students from a Portuguese or French University, currently in the last year of their study program, as well as those who concluded their degree in the current or previous year;
• Startups in the incubation phase (up to 3 years old) with offices in Portugal or France.

The following individuals or groups are not allowed to participate in the AIIA:

• Employees of any of the companies of the Altice Group;
• Any individual who is chosen to be part of the applications analysis and evaluation teams.

Regarding the “Inclusive by Fundação Altice Portugal” initiative, only the following type of digital solutions, mobile applications, or online platforms are eligible:

a) Inclusion into the community of Those that promote inclusion in the community of people with disabilities through telecommunications technologies;
b) Those that improve accessibility to PC, Tablet, and Mobile.

Regarding the BfK initivative, only the Portuguese students and Portuguese Startups shortlisted are eligible to receive this award.

4. Award schedule

The following dates should be taken into account by all candidates:

• June 09, 2021: release date;
• June 09 until September 23, 2021 (23h59 GMT): submission period;
• September 24 until October 29, 2021: validation of all the received applications and evaluation of all the valid applications;
• November 02, 2021: shortlist closing and announcement:
• November 25, 2021: pitch to the Jury and Winner’s ceremony.

5. Awards and honors

The awards for the 2 winning projects, one for the academy winner and one for the startup winner, are:

Startup award – only 1st place:

• € 50.000 (estimated value. Income taxes, local taxes or taxes related to international bank transfers may apply);
• PoC with Altice Group.

Academy award – only 1st place:

• € 25.000 (estimated value. Personal income taxes, local taxes or taxes related to international bank transfers may apply).

Together with the prize money, it may be offered to the winning startup the possibility to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to perform a proof-of-concept (PoC) in order to evolve its project technically and pre-commercially. The duration period for the PoC will be 9 months, extendable, if both parts wish so, up to 12 months.

The winner of the “Inclusive by Fundação Altice Portugal” special prize will receive a prize money of €15.000 (estimated value, since income taxes, local taxes or taxes related to international bank transfers may apply).

The winner of BfK Award will receive “The tree of knowledge” piece of art and a certificate.

6. Entries submission

All the applications must be submitted online by using the form provided on the AIIA website. Submission by any other means will not be considered unless there are proven situations of unavailability/error in the form whose causes are attributable to Altice Labs.

Regarding the information to be submitted, it is mandatory:

• To be in the English language;
• To be supported in the powerpoint presentation available here, completely filled in with the required information.
  • For Academy: it must include a link to a valid document proving you are or recently were a MSc or PhD student in a University from one of the above mentioned countries.
  • For Startups: it is mandatory to include “Código de Acesso à Certidão Permanente”, or “Kbis”, or other similar legal document.

It may include links to any other documents you consider relevant to prove the value of the project (not mandatory).

7. Conditions of application

By applying to AIIA, candidates fully agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth by this contest rules. If you don’t agree with these terms and conditions, you must not submit the application. Candidates must also be aware that:

• The applications and documents submitted will not be returned to the candidates;
• Candidates must bear all costs related to the preparation and submission of the application(s);
• Altice Labs reserves the right to update AIIA’s regulation without previous notice;
• All shortlisted candidates will be informed by e-mail in case such changes directly affect them;
• Altice Labs reserves the right to cancel the AIIA by notifying all candidates by e-mail in the event of force majeure or in cases where applications submitted do not meet the minimum quality standards or creativity requirements;
• The cancellation mentioned previously does not confer the right to the candidates for any compensation;
• Requests for clarifications about the AIIA should be addressed exclusively to innovationaward@alticelabs.com.

8. Evaluation criteria

The projects submitted will be evaluated according to the following criteria and weights.

The evaluation scale to be used will be 0 to 5.

Startup Category

1. Creativity and innovation – 50%
2. Business model and growth potential – 30%
3. Impact on society – 20%

Academy Category

1. Creativity and innovation – 60%
2. Business model and growth potential – 15%
3. Impact on society – 25%

Submitted projects will be valued, among others, for the ability to:

• Engage customers by delivering delightful, personalized experiences based on data and content as well as by allowing the convergence of functionalities among different devices;
• Enrich services through premium content offerings;
• Connect customers to brands through cutting-edge digital advertising platforms/applications;
• Offer a truly unique value proposition, data-driven, measurable and multiscreen experience to brands, agencies and the media industry;
• Transform business models: building innovative products/UIs based on actual customer behaviors and diversified business models;
• Optimize corporate operations, digitalize key customer processes and channels.

BfK by ANI

Evaluation criteria are available here.

9. Selection process

All applications will be first validated to make sure they are eligible (Section 3) and have the mandatory documentation listed above (Section 6). The eligibility validation period will occur during the period mentioned in Section 4.

All valid applications will then be evaluated by the local Committee that will be responsible for identifying a maximum of 6 finalists (up to 3 per category). The evaluation period will occur during the period mentioned in Section 4.

The shortlisted candidates, by category, will defend their idea in a 5-minute pitch to the AIIA Jury that will then be responsible for selecting the two AIIA winners (one per category), on the date indicated in Section 4.

Regarding the “Inclusive by Fundação Altice Portugal”, only the projects that apply to this special prize (by selecting this option in the submission form) and only projects that meet the conditions listed in Section 3 will be evaluated. Fundação Altice Portugal will be responsible for selecting the winner of this special award.

Regarding the BfK Awards, all Portuguese shortlisted candidates are automatically qualified and will be considered for evaluation by ANI. ANI will be the responsible for select the Winner of the BfK Award.

10. Jury, evaluation and monitoring committee and deliberations

The Jury will be responsible for the evaluation on the pitch day. Besides including some key persons from the Altice Group, it will also be constituted by relevant personalities of the research and innovation system and social media from the geographies considered in each edition of the award. It will also include a member of Fundação Altice Portugal, as well as a member of ANI.

The Evaluation and Monitoring Committee main function is to ensure the proper functioning of the AIIA as well as to validate and evaluate all applications submitted. The Evaluation and Monitoring Committee will be constituted by members from Altice Labs and Altice Portugal, as well as members from Fundação Altice Portugal.

The deliberations of the Evaluation and Monitoring Committee and of the Jury are final and binding in all its aspects and may not be disputed.