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NEXUS Idea Generation Programme for Water-Energy-Food + ICT entrepreneurs
NEX-LABS NEXUS Idea Generation Programme combines practical and theoretical market-driven training. It represents an early-stage entrepreneurship programme which includes training, advice, business model prototyping, and final competition.
The programme is implemented simultaneously across borders in a vibrant virtual setting that offers both contextual and applied learning, supported by case-studies, mentoring sessions, and direct access to expert advice.
By participating you may receive additional support such as funding, market explore, commercialization, and access to an expert mentor to assist in validating technologies and business models.
Programme details:
- Online programme with some access to NEXUS Driven Open Living Labs facilities where appropriate.
- Free, and places are limited.
Implementation will be in phases as following:
Phase 1. NEXUS Ideas Lab
Ideation workshop: Co-creation process to develop new innovative projects and disruptive solutions.
Phase 2. Capacity building program
Participants will attend a hands-on program over 4-5 days helping them rapidly turn their ideas and solutions into market driven entrepreneurial projects.
Phase 3 Personalized Mentorship
20 participants will receive at least 6 focused one-to-one mentorship sessions over three weeks towards rapid validation and prototyping.
Phase 4 Projects competition and award ceremony
Participants will present their business ideas for 7 minutes (+3 for questions) to a panel of judges which will be made up of experts in the valorization of business ideas and companies sponsors. The jury will be responsible for nominating the winning project.
Target Audience:
Researchers, innovators with an interest in developing/commercializing existing or new NEXUS linked products and services in water, energy, food sectors, in Jordan, Lebanon, or in any eligible country in the Mediterranean region are invited to apply.
Call for application:
The applications will be opened with a provisional duration of 2 weeks. Places are limited, with a total of 30 participants.
Eligibility criteria:
The following factors will be considered:
- Existing applied research in the field
- Existing entrepreneurial activities in the field
- Existing product/service design
- Potential of scalability
- Team expertise and motivation
For enquiry you may reach out to:
Eng. Seema Azzam
Intellectual Property Officer
iPARK – Royal Scientific Society
s.azzam@ipark.jo
Dr. Mohammed Aljafari
Director of the Intellectual Property Commercialization Office
iPARK – Royal Scientific Society
m.aljafari@ipark.jo
About NEX-LABS
NEX-LABS targeted territories, characterized by water scarcity/irregular rainfall/population distribution, reflect agriculture as largest user of water (70-90%) while future global warming projections (≈2ºC) involve summer precipitation (-10/-30%) threatening water availability (-2/-15%) and agricultural productivity (-12/-40%). The latent conflict between energy efficiency (≈60%) and water production is also increasing energy footprint/m 3 of water used to produce food. The predicted future shortfalls in Water/Energy/Food (WEF) requires a NEXUS approach.
In this context, NEX-LABS aims to support the implementation of clean technologies for sustainable and resilient increase of agri-food sector production based on a more efficient use of energy (renewable/solar solutions) and water (wastewater treatment, water harvesting or reuse solutions) in MPC region thanks to the contributions of ICT such as blockchain technology, Internet of the Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning and Big Data.
NEX-LABS will contribute to the creation of a sustainable and resilient agro food sector based on NEXUS driven Open Living Labs (NDOLL) approach, thus strengthening technology transfer, cooperation industry-academia, increasing commercialization opportunities and innovation-driven growth.
For more information visit the project website.