INNOVATION & COLLABORATION
ZHIDA INTERNATIONAL
2024年“赢在苏州 创赢未来”国际创客大赛太仓直通赛爱尔兰赛区
2024 "Win in Suzhou·Win the Future" Venture Contest for International Entrepreneurs
Dublin & Suzhou & Taicang
INTRODUCTION OF CITY SUZHOU
Suzhou, China, located in the southeastern part of Jiangsu Province, is one of the important central cities in the Yangtze River Delta. Suzhou is famous for its long history and culture in China. It has a history of more than 2,500 years starting from the Spring and Autumn Period. However, Suzhou is not only famous for its unique city style but also for its rich production of fish, rice, and silk. All of these entitled it the reputation for “paradise.” More importantly, Suzhou is one of the most competitive cities in China. In 2020, the regional GDP exceeded 300 billion US dollar.
ABOUT THE CONTEST
Starting from 2009, in order to help more overseas high-level talents to start their business in Suzhou. Suzhou as a pioneer created the platform - Suzhou International Elite Venture Week, to serve overseas high-level talents. Based on the theme of gathering global wisdom and creating a paradise for startups, the event has obtained great reputation world widely and gathered thousands of talents globally. It assists these talents to achieve their dream of innovation and entrepreneurship. Suzhou has successfully completed 74 international competitions, covering North America, Asia, Europe, Oceania, etc.
In order to better integrate Ireland’s scientific research technology and Suzhou’s humanistic entrepreneurial environment, “Win in Suzhou·Win the Future” Venture Contest for International Entrepreneurs (Ireland) 2024 is scheduled to be held alive in June in Suzhou & Dublin in 2024. This inaugural startup pitch competition aims to strengthen the innovative interaction between China and Ireland, in order to better serve potential projects and enterprises within Suzhou.
ORGANIZING PARTIES
“Win the Future” Venture Contest for International Entrepreneurs (Ireland) 2023 will be organized by the Suzhou and undertaken by Zhida International Cultural Exchange Dublin.
Zhida International Cultural Exchange Dublin is a Business and Education consultancy firm focused on driving innovation and collaborations between Ireland and China.
THE PARTICIPANTS
The event, which consists of both “Win the Future” Venture Contest for International Entrepreneurs and Suzhou International Elite Venture Week, welcomes companies and individual talents to participate! The projects could be from various fields, such as new materials, new energy, biotechnology and medicine, smart city, blockchain technology, equipment manufacturing, integrated circuits and software, energy conservation, environmental protection, and consumer goods etc.
POLICIES
1) After two rounds of selections, 10 projects are selected for the finals of ONLINE “Win the Future” Venture Contest for International Entrepreneurs (Ireland) on the 9 June 2024. The selected projects will enjoy media exposure, and be recommended to the cooperative venture capitals and the cooperative banks to have the priority for financial support if they are planning to develop their market in China.
2) Competition awards
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One First prize, 1 winner, 30,000 RMB(around 3900 euros )/project
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Two Second prizes, 2 winners, 20,000 RMB(around 2600 euros)/project
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Three Third prizes, 3 winners, 10,000 RMB (around 1300 euros)/ project
Winners in “Win the Future” Venture Contest for International Entrepreneurs (Ireland) will automatically be enrolled as the candidates for the global finals held in Suzhou, China in July 2024 directly.
3) The first-prize winner of the competition (Ireland) enjoys the following policies on the premise of meeting the conditions of the Gusu Leading Talents Program and the Angel Program. They can appropriately break the limit of age, education and other restrictions. Also, they can directly apply for the Gusu Leading Talents Program and the Angel Project, which provide 50,000-100,000 RMB entrepreneurship grants and 200,000-500,000 RMB project funding. This green channel is retained for 1-2 years with the winning projects.
4) The first-prize winner of the global finals (held in Suzhou in July 2024), who starts the business within 1 year and meets certain requirements, can be directly entitled Gusu Leading Talents and have the relevant policy and financial support. The second-prize winner, who starts a business in Suzhou within one year, can directly attend the Gusu Leading Talents Program Interview.
5) The first & second & third-prize winner of the competition (Ireland) can be directly entitled Taicang Leading Talents, after the registration in Taicang and meeting the basic application conditions. When applying for project funding, the technical review will be skipped and the applicants can directly attend the final interview evaluation. According to the evaluation, the project can receive subsidies from 500,000 to 3,000,000 RMB and the applicant can have the corresponding living allowances.
2023 REGISTRATION STAGE (Open)
Applicants should submit ① the completed registration form (see attached file), ② English/Chinese business ppt, poster, or attached application form (please include key project information to fit the evaluation purpose), ③ a copy of personal ID (e.g. passport first page, work ID card, driver license) ④ a copy of the highest academic certificate. You should send all documents to the official email address: zhidaiceIreland@126.com.
Review of the project proposals will be organized monthly from the beginning of the year to the end of July 2024. First come, first served.
The committee will organize relevant international scholars, financing institutions, and representatives of venture capitals to conduct the internal preliminary evaluation. The outstanding projects will be recommended to the Irish regional final contest which will be held alive in Suzhou China & Dublin Ireland in 2024. Our adviser will be in contact with you after the receipt of your application documents. Advices will be given if further documents are required.
VISIT SUZHOU (July 2024)
The committee will organize the winning projects (teams), outstanding projects (teams) and top-notch talents and other applicants to participate in Suzhou International Elite Venture Week on July 2024 in Suzhou, China. During the Venture Week, the committee will organize field visits and communication with local enterprises and institutions in Suzhou. Winners of the competition (Ireland Division) will participate in the pre-selection of the global finals. We will assist all candidates to apply for travel expenses to cover your international flights, accommodation, and meals in China.
JURY COMMITTEE
It is composed of Chinese and foreign technical experts and representatives of venture capitals.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION:
31 May 2024
See Chinese version of this event, please find us on the company Wechat ID:zhidaice
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