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On 30 October, the Otto Mønsted Foundation will award the Bright Idea Prize for the sixth year in a row. The award comes with a total of DKK 500,000 for two winning ideas that convince the jury that they have both professional weight and the potential to create value for Danish business and society as a whole.
If you are a bachelor/graduate student, PhD student, postdoc or part of a research team with an innovative idea, product, process or solution, there is good reason to submit an application to the foundation before the application deadline on 15 August.
According to several of the previous award winners, The Bright Idea has a significant impact on the winners, their projects and the wider entrepreneurial community. This is according to an evaluation conducted by the foundation.
From the responses to the evaluation, the foundation can conclude that the value of The Bright Idea award, totalling DKK 500,000, goes beyond being a financial injection for the winners’ further development and commercialisation of their ideas at a time when it is generally difficult to attract risky financial resources. The attention and recognition that also comes with the award opens doors to new opportunities and strengthens the network in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and collaboration with the industries the winning ideas are targeting.
2019 award winner Mingyi Xu puts it this way:
“The award enabled me to explore innovative paths in my field and realise an ambitious idea. Besides the financial support, the award was a validation and recognition of the potential of my work, which opened doors to collaborations and opportunities I would not have had otherwise. The award secured funding for two major projects around research and pilot testing to scale up the implementation of our idea.”
For Ahmed Ammar, who won in 2022 for a prototype LED driver, the cash prize was an important push to get his winning idea off the ground and pave the way for further funding to take the project to the next stage.
“Early-stage funding is extremely important when launching a startup, especially a university spinout. Without the Bright Idea award, the resources it secured and the quality stamp that came with it, I don’t necessarily think we would have had the same success with the subsequent grant applications,” he says.
For last year’s winner, Hongbo Zhao, the award has also given him great recognition at Aalborg University, where he is doing research, and the university will help him start up a company that further develops magnetic components based on ceramic materials, he says.
Ida C. Jensen, won in 2023 for a method to control plant diseases with ants. She says:
“The recognition of receiving the award has been a great pat on the back and has ensured that we can further develop and test our product and services. This is crucial for us as it will prepare us to enter the market in 2025.”
Rings in the water
The award has also had a stimulating effect on the entrepreneurial ecosystem, both internally at universities and externally. One winner emphasises that his method is now being used by other startups. Another 2020 winner, Timothy Jenkins, was inspired to start the Invention Club at the Technical University of Denmark, where he is affiliated, which has created a network for entrepreneurs and led to several commercial projects.
Mingyi Xu won in 2019 for developing a method to produce food protein from carbon dioxide, water and electricity. The winning idea greatly influenced the entrepreneurship ecosystem, he says.
“At the time of our breakthrough, this concept was very new. After the publication of our results, the concept received a lot of attention and triggered an increase in annual research projects dedicated to this area. At the same time, numerous startups focused on this technology emerged, indicating a vibrant and growing interest in the field catalysed by our work.
The Bright Idea Award is presented in both an early-stage and a late-stage category. The late-stage winners in particular have significantly expanded their networks. Four out of five winners report that the award has led to collaboration with industry.
“This collaboration is essential to bring innovative ideas from the research stage to the market. However, the trees do not grow into the sky. While there is a lot of effort from academia to promote the work of talent, there is a big difference between going from being a researcher to running a business. By supporting networking and mentoring, the Otto Mønsted Foundation and others can play an even greater role in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in Denmark,” says Nina Movin, Director of the Otto Mønsted Foundation.