We love writing about programs that support startups, wherever they may be in the world. TechPeaks is a program of Trento RISE, a “catalyzer of innovation” that’s to convert the field of Information & Communications Technology (ICT) into a competitive & dynamic knowledge economy aimed at sustainable development & quality of life.Trento RISE, incidentally, is a core partner of the ICT network within the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, & hosts the seat of the Italian node of the EIT ICT Labs, & work in synergy with the five other nodes in the network in Berlin, Paris, Helsinki, Eindhoven & Stockholm.
TechPeaks, the annual startup accelerator program based out of Italy, is already well on the way of accepting applications from startups, & even those who do not have anything on the ground but just the germ of an idea in their minds. Or even without any business idea! That’s right. The application round closes on January 20, 2014. The 4 month long TechPeaks 2014 will start on March 25, 2014.
Who can participate?
Individuals & teams can participate in TechPeaks. There are 2 tracks (and application forms), one for candidates without a business idea (Explorers track) & one for candidates with a business idea (Alpinists Track).
These guys accept startups at all stages, mostly in the very early stage (pre-seed, seed) without that precluding startups at later stages to apply and contribute favourably to creating a great ecosystem for the benefit of all participants and the local community in Trento.
Preliminary requirements are: to be fluent in English, not having participated in previous editions of TechPeaks, to be 18 years of age. For those who are not citizens of the European Union, & only for visa application purposes, to possess an academic degree enabling access to doctoral programs
All participants are provided with an exceptional opportunity package: free accomodation, free working space, free visa support & a monthly living allowance.
What do startups get?
The 5 winning teams get “500k Euros”. Here’s how this has been broken down: up to 5 teams will receive a grant of 50k Euros each (250k Euros total), plus up to 3 co-founders per team can receive the same accomodation, monthly allowance & access to office provided for the 4 month program, for an additional 12 months (sheer costs of 14.400 Euros each, so up to approx 45.000 Euros only. Based on some more calculations like overheads, etc, each of the 5 winning teams can potentially access a total of up to 100k Euros, which sums up to a total of up to 500k in prizes.
To know more about this Accelerator Program, click here.
Image Credit: TechPeaks
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