On the 2nd February 2022, NGI celebrated the end of its current fellowship program between the EU and US with an NGI Explorers Awards Ceremony to celebrate the outstanding achievements of its Explorers. The program successfully showcased the bridging of trans-continental Research and Innovation collaboration with the USA.
The event began with an introduction and opening remarks by Jorge Gasos, Project Officer from the European Commission, DG Connect.
The 35 NGI Explorer nominees were invited to pitch their projects, briefly showcasing their results and project highlights. These projects have been carried out by European researchers and innovators directly working with US interdisciplinary, tech-driven collaborative groups in the following domains: AI, Cybersecurity, Cloud/Edge Computing, IoT, 5G; and verticals: health, smart cities and buildings, network security and connectivity, smart transport, and tourism.
To conclude the series of interesting tech and scientific knowledge shared by NGI Explorers, the event continued with a Masterclass “Greening the NGI”, offered by TETRA project and conducted by Robert Miskuf & Susanna Albertini. The Masterclass focused on the challenges and impacts of the digital society on the environment and provides insights to rethink the NGI environmental footprint in the near and far future.
At the end of the NGI Explorers event the contestants were evaluated by a top-notch and well-rounded jury panel with solid knowledge and skill in technology and business:
- Jose Gonzalez, NGI Explorers Partnership Lead, AUSTRALO
- Miguel Garcia, Innovation Expert, Independent Consultant
- Alexandra Garatzogianni, Head of Knowledge & Technology Transfer at Leibniz Information Center for Science & Technology, Leibniz Information Center for Science and Technology
- Grete Gutmann, Startup Team Lead, CIVITTA
THE AWARDED INNOVATORS & RESEARCHERS
Eight NGI Explorers were awarded prizes for their outstanding performances.
- BEST PROJECT EXCELLENCE – Bruna Fonseca & Greg Agriopoulos
- BEST NGI EXPLORERS IMPACT – Serena Leka & Luis de la Tore Cubillo
- BRIGHTEST EU EXPLORER – Roberto Medina Bujalance & Lukasz Porwol
- BEST SOCIAL INNOVATION IMPACT- Rui A. Costa & Franziska Kirstein
The NGI Explorers Awards was a proud moment for everyone in the NGI community to celebrate the European spirit of progress and collaboration for an Internet of Humans.
In addition to these categories, the NGI Explorers team awarded the University of Santa Clara and the Arizona State University as THE BEST COLLABORATIVE PARTNER.
The NGI Explorers program would not be possible without our US nodes. These institutions and companies of distinguished importance worldwide, offered their contribution to the program’s purpose by participating in this adventure of technological and scientific nature, demonstrating great collaborative spirit and support towards the solid and sustainable pan-European vision that the NGI community stands for.