Take part in CESAER student competition and win €20,000

Do you have an innovative idea on how science and technology can help society move towards sustainable development? Then apply for the CESAER Student Challenge 2023. Experts will judge innovative and novel ideas that demonstrate scientific and technological excellence with a sustainable impact. It must be a completely new project that has not been presented to the public before. The CESAER Student Challenge 2023 is organized by CESAER, the prestigious network of European science and technology universities, of which BUT is a member.

This year's theme is "Technical Universities' Contribution to Sustainability" and proposals will be evaluated based on three categories: innovation, scientific and technological excellence, and sustainability and impact. The three best proposals will be presented at the CESAER Annual Meeting (CAM) in Madrid in October 2023. The leaders of these three teams will be invited to attend the CAM, where the winning team will be announced and awarded €20,000.

How to enter the competition?

Each CESAER member university can only submit one project. For this reason, the selection procedure is organised in 2 steps:

1) internal selection process at BUT and

2) Submission of the selected proposal to the CESAER Student Challenge.

Step 1 – Internal selection

To apply for a project on behalf of the BUT, teams must submit a binding application by completing the form by 31 May 2023. Teams can submit their applications via this form.

The completed application form must include

• Names and surnames of team members, university and faculty
• Contact information for the team leader
• A brief abstract introducing the idea (maximum 500 words) in English
• Potential sustainability impact of the proposed project (maximum 200 words) in English

The team is open to BUT students at Bachelor, Master and Doctoral level, as well as students from other universities. However, the team leader must be a BUT student. CESAER particularly encourages the creation of interdisciplinary and inter-institutional teams. In order to increase the success rate, it is recommended that the team is formed across different faculties. In addition, BUT is involved in the EULiST European University and the participation of students from EULiST Alliance partner institutions is encouraged. More information about EULiST can be found here.

All registered teams will be contacted in early June with further instructions. Complete CESAER Student Challenge documents (abstract and video) should be sent to Mariana Tesarova at mariana.tesarova@vut.cz by 14 July 2023.

BUT's expert jury will then select one winning team to be supported by BUT in the second round and participate in the CESAER Student Challenge 2023, where the team will have the opportunity to win EUR 20,000. The selected team from BUT will receive a prize from BUT and the results of the internal selection process will be announced on 28 July 2023.

Step 2 – Apply for the CESAER Student Challenge 2023

The winning project resulting from the internal selection procedure will apply to the CESAER call on behalf of the BUT by 31 July 2023 by submitting the required materials in English:

• an abstract (maximum 17,000 characters)
• a short video (maximum 4 minutes)
• Approval by the CESAER Institutional Liaison at the BUT (Mariana Tesarova, mariana.tesarova@vut.cz), who will send the winning team a link where they can upload and submit the abstract and video by 31 July.

For a complete guide to the CESAER Student Challenge selection process, please follow this link. For more information, please visit the CESAER Student Challenge website for full information about the competition including frequently asked questions. Therefore, before contacting Mariana Tesar, please read all the available material carefully.

CESAER in cooperation with Start up Academy is organizing an online webinar on 4 May, 16:00-18:00. More information, including a link to register, can be found here. The webinar will be recorded. If you are interested in the recording, please contact Mariana Tesarova at mariana.tesarova@vut.cz.

Important dates:

• 2 May: launch of the call at the BUT
• 4 May: Innovation talk for students - organized by CESAER in collaboration with Start up Academy
• 31 May: Deadline to apply for the internal selection process at the BUT
• 14 July: Deadline for the submission of the complete documents - abstract and video - for the internal call for applications to the BUT
• 28 July: Publication of the results of the internal selection process at the BUT
• 31 July: Deadline for applications for the CESAER Student Challenge 2023, submission of the winning application to the BUT
• 19 October: Winners will be awarded at the CESAER Annual Meeting in Madrid.

How to contact us

If you have any questions regarding this call, please contact the CESAER contact person at the BUT: Mariana Tesarova at mariana.tesarova@vut.cz