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ICT 2018 Exhibition Guide for applicants

The European Commission will be present at its flagship event "Imagine digital, CONNECT Europe – ICT 2018" from 4 to 6 December 2018 in Vienna. The event includes a major exhibition of EU-funded research and innovation projects from current and previous Framework Programmes showcasing the best accomplishments and pioneering results. The ICT-2018 Exhibition is organised by the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT). The exhibition will also present initiatives which support the Digital Single Market.

a picture of the empty exhibition hall at ACV

ACV Vienna

The empty space in one of the exhibition halls at ACV.

Visitors can discover how EU funding supports promising and outstanding research as they stroll through the exhibition. An online catalogue will guide the visitors through the exhibition.

Who can exhibit?

Projects, initiatives or organisations which receive or have received EU funding can apply, such as:

  • Advanced research projects;
  • Research, technology and innovation projects with high-tech prototype demonstrators;
  • Companies demonstrating innovative products that are on the market for less than 2 years;
  • Spin-off companies from EU funded projects;
  • ICT research and innovation stakeholders from around the world engaged in successful collaboration with European partners.

Overview

The exhibition will support the main pillars of the conference programme, namely the digitisation of European industry, the enhancement of society through digitisation and the impact of digitisation on society. It will include:

  • The Main exhibition showcasing successful EU funded ICT projects and related EU initiatives with a maximum of 100 slots of +/- 15 - 20 m²;
  • The International Cooperation (INCO) Village which will inform visitors about current and upcoming collaborations in ICT with Korea, Brazil, Japan, and other partners;  
  • The Innovators and Start-ups Village promoting EU-funded start-ups;
  • The European Commission Pavilion, which will offer general info about flagship initiatives, Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), MEDIA programme, Research Infrastructure initiatives, etc.;
  • The Austrian Village, a small exhibition with highlights from the Austrian ICT community.

Who is the target audience?

Approximately 5000 visitors are expected to attend the ICT 2018 event and will potentially visit the exhibition. Expected visitors of ICT 2018 are researchers, policy makers, innovators, businesses (including SMEs), start-ups, investors, strategists, students, etc.

Your exhibition space

What will be provided to the exhibitors -for FREE?

(Indicative equipment; final set-up will be confirmed at a later stage)

Exhibition – space & equipment
15 – 20 m² space
Attractive and innovative labelling (visual ID + booth name)
Screen 55' with remote control
Cabled internet connection, wifi connection, electricity, spotlights
Document rack : or alternative to display printed publications
Table with 4 chairs
Lockable counter with 2 high chairs

What will not NOT be provided:

  • Supplementary Internet capacity (to be specified in your request);
  • Equipment costs (e.g. PCs, rental of specific equipment if needed) - you have to bring your own equipment;
  • Transportation costs for equipment;
  • Travel and accommodation costs for personnel (NB: stands must be staffed continuously during the three days of the exhibition; you must arrive the day before to set up the stand and must foresee time to dismantle the stand after the end of the event). Note that projects can include these costs in their cost statements through prior agreement with the EU Project Officer.
  • Insurance costs;
  • Any other costs associated with the stand.

Deadline for submission

The deadline to submit your application is 25/05/2018, 17:00 CET - Deadline Extended! (See Call for applications)

Successful applicants will be notified by end of July 2018 at the latest.

How do I apply for an exhibition space?

You can apply for a space in one of the following three areas:

The EC pavilion and the Austrian Presidency Village are not covered by a Call for Applications.

Venue

Austria Center Vienna (ACV)

Bruno-Kreisky-Platz 1

A-1220 Wien

Applicants for the Main Exhibtion

Which are the themes of the exhibition?

You can choose from the following themes to exhibit your project:

  • "Inspiring a digital society"
  • "Creating networks and technology"
  • "Transforming industry and economy"

These themes are to be considered from a user perspective:  Who will be the user group that benefits immediately from my project results? Is it the society at large? Will the project results contribute to further development of networks/technology/infrastructures? Will it contribute to a transformation or innovation of industry and economy?

How many themes can my project address?

You should choose one of the above themes for your project. You should justify your choice when filling in your application. If relevant, the Commission may move your project under another theme.

What do we expect from selected applicants?

Your booth/space should be visually appealing and creative so that it can attract the attention of all visitors, including the less technically savvy visitor. Interactive engagement with the public and display of prototypes are an asset.

Your booth/space should give the following information at a glance:

•   Which thematic area is covered by your project (e.g. HPC, robotics, eHealth, eGovernment)?

•    Which is the issue that the project is trying to solve and why is it important?

•    How are you trying to solve it?

•    What is your final goal?

•    Where exactly is your project now with reference to its final goal? Which level of maturity has it reached?

•    What are the next steps?

You should make sure that the booth/space displays and addresses the above mentioned elements , so visitors can immediately see the project's goals and significance. You should be able to provide more in-depth information to specialised visitors like researchers, software specialists, etc., upon request.

Specific labels on some booths/spaces will draw the visitor's attention to a special outcome of a project e.g.

  • "market-ready", if your project has finalised a product which will be or has just been launched in the market;
  • "investor-ready", if your project is looking for investors for a specific item;
  • "spin-off", if your project has given rise to a spin-off company that wishes to benefit from ICT 2018 in making new contact.

Each label will be subject to the Commission's approval.

Award criteria?

The Commission will award exhibition spaces to projects which :

  • propose promising research results,
  • display these results in an appealing manner and
  • are able to explain quickly and briefly on what issue they are solving, how they are solved and why it is important. 

The attractiveness of the project demonstration and interactivity with visitors will be one of the highly ranked award criteria. You will also be challenged to show why your project merits to be funded, in which way its results are pioneering and how they bring added-value to the policies in the context of the Digital Single Market and the digitalisation in Europe.

The Commission reserves the right to select projects according to its individual evaluation but also in view of a balanced representation of areas. Some projects might be clustered in one bigger space.

Deadline for submission

The deadline to submit your application is18/05/2018, 17:00 CET

Successful applicants will be notified by end of July 2018 at the latest.

Who can I contact for further questions?

Contact us via email

Applicants for the INCO (International Cooperation) village

Who can apply for a space?

Projects, initiatives or organisations which receive or have received EU funding and are or have been involved in collaborative projects with EU partners can apply for a space.

What do we expect from applicants?

Your booth/spacedescription should highlight how you are going to show international cooperation aspects, joint calls and successful projects between the EU and non-EU partners. Constructive interactions between exhibition visitors and project/third-country representatives at your booth/space will play a key role in finding out about collaborative opportunities, expectations, and requirements. You can showcase results and achievements of your project or initiative as well as describe future collaboration prospects and/or make information material available or digitally accessible.

Award criteria

The Commission will award projects/organisations which propose promising international collaboration results can demonstrate these results in an appealing manner and are able to explain quickly and briefly as to what issue they are solving and how and why it is important. 

The Commission reserves the right to select projects based on individual evaluation while considering the balance of certain topics/geographic regions.

Is there a financial support for selected applicants?

Projects are offered an exhibition space for free (see general description above for specifications). Any other costs for e.g. staff present at the booth/space, supplementary equipment etc. will have to be paid by the project/initiative/partner organisation etc.  

Deadline for submission

The deadline to submit you application is 18/05/2018, 17:00 CET

Successful applicants will be notified by end of July 2018 at the latest.

Who can I contact for further questions?

Contact us via email

Applicants for the Innovation / Startup Village

Who can apply for a space?

Organisations or companies that are receiving or have received EU-funding and that can showcase their product at a leading Information Technology event.

What do we expect from applicants?

Applicants must advertise in their booth/space that they have received EU funding.

If you are building on IoT, Data, Drones, 3D Printing, Robots or Modern Gadgets, ICT2018 is the perfect opportunity to highlight it!

If you want to apply, make sure your product can be brought to the venue. It should be easy to display and have a clear innovation element.

Award criteria

The companies will be selected based on their answers provided in the application form.

The exhibition will have a mix of companies from various geographies, various industries that will be selected by a jury. In order to be considered your product needs to be on the market and you need to have clients. Receiving business support via initiatives such as EIT or EASME will be an asset. Additionally raising capital from Venture Capitalists or crowdfunding platforms is valuable and taken into consideration during the selection of the winners.

Is there a financial support for selected applicants?

Projects are offered an exhibition space for free (see general description above for specifications). Any other costs for e.g. staff present at the booth/space, supplementary equipment etc. will have to be paid by the project/initiative/partner organisation etc. 

Deadline for submission

The deadline to submit you application is 18/05/2018, 17:00 CET

Successful applicants will be notified by end of July 2018 at the latest.

Who can I contact for further questions?

Contact us via email