If you have a startup company and you’re thinking about applying for an European accelerator program, you’ll probably know that you have quite a few options. Choosing one of the old goodies like Seedcamp, Startup Sauna, or one of the many Startupbootcamps wouldn’t be a bad idea, but there are new and more specialized programs from which to choose out there as well – Hardware devoted BuildIt to name one of the recent news breakers.
Now there’s a new player in the game.
The Open Education Challenge(OEC), though privately owned like most accelerators, stands out for having the support of a major political body, the European Commission. OEC is part and a direct result of the Commission’s initiative, Startup Europe, to create new jobs by helping ICT and web entrepreneurs.
And talking about specialized programs, there’s a catch with this one: the only condition to get accepted in is that your startup must contribute to transforming education.
Other than that, it’s free for all. The program offers 12 weeks of intensive mentoring among Europe’s top experts in education, including the prominent Aalto University of Finland, Iversity Berlin and Parisian business school ESCP. This means the usual tight package of mentoring from both these schooling experts and from the Open Education Challenge team. Networking is provided by Israeli incubator Mindcet.
Only 10 of the most promising startups will be chosen for the program. All participants will receive a seed investment of up to €20 000 for a small chunk of equity and future doors are opened to the inclusive Open Education Investment Club where startups can get in good contacts with investors.
The submission consists of four phases which will culminate in the finals in Barcelona where 10 participants will be chosen from 20 finalists.
The Open Education Challenge is made possible by the partnership between two companies; Barcelona based P.A.U. Education and Armat group from Luxembourg.
EdTech startups should seriously consider this opportunity, so if any of the below-listed terms sound familiar in your field of work, spread the word or participate!
- Learning contents
- Devices, tools and connectivity
- Learning assessment and analytics
- School management and organisation
- Learning communities.
It’s good to note that applications are open worldwide, not solely in the EU. This means no easy entry but more glory and the EdTech crown for those who get accepted.
