Falling Walls

About

The Falling Walls Lab is an interdisciplinary format to showcase the next generation of top researchers developed and hosted annually by the Falling Walls Foundation in Berlin on 8 November. In 3-minute talks, outstanding talents and innovative thinkers share their research projects, business models and social initiatives with an interdisciplinary audience and jury.

Academic institutions worldwide are invited to host their own Falling Walls Lab and to send their winner/s to the Falling Walls Lab Finale on 8 November 2019 in Berlin. The Falling Walls Lab is supported by the Berlin Senate, the Bayer Foundations, Sartorius and X, the moonshot factory.

What is the Falling Walls Lab?

The Falling Walls Lab is an international platform aimed at supporting the next generation of scientists and innovators. Its goal is to promote exceptional ideas and to connect scientists and business-oriented people in various fields from all over the world. The participants get an opportunity to present their research projects, business plans or citizens’ initiatives in English to a jury of experts. They only have 3 minutes for their presentation, 3 minutes, that are the key to success.

Concept

Each year, academic institutions from around the world are invited to host their own Falling Walls Lab to showcase the quality, diversity and passion of the most innovative minds in their countries. The most intriguing presenters win a trip to the Lab Finale in Berlin, which takes place on 8 November. About 100 finalists from all around the world present their work in front of a distinguished jury. The three winners of the Lab Finale in Berlin are awarded the Falling Walls Young Innovator of the Year title, receive prize money and get to pitch their ideas once again on the grand stage of the Falling Walls Conference, which takes place on the following day. The conference hosts global leaders from the field of science, business and politics.

Organizers

The international Falling Walls Lab network includes renowned academic institutions from more than 60 countries: Stanford University, the ETH Zurich and the University of Tokyo to name just a few.

The Falling Walls Lab in the Czech Republic is organized by CEITEC (Central European Institute of Technology) in cooperation with DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), the German Embassy in Prague, the company xITee, the VIDA! science centre, the Technology agency (TA ČR) and the agency CzechInvest.

Falling Walls Lab 2018

In 2018 the Falling Walls Lab took place in 57 countries with more than 3,000 participants.

Markéta Klíčová from the Technical University in Liberec won the Audience Award at the world finale in Berlin. In her presentation Breaking the Wall of Colorectal Cancer Treatment, she demonstrated how nanotechnologies can help reduce post-operative complications following gastrointestinal surgeries.

This is what Markéta said about her participation:

„I came back with an unspeakable feeling about how 100 finalists from all over the world shared one stage and presented unique solutions to a broad spectrum of problems. Every single person being from another part of the world, everyone comes from a different background and culture, but all shared one goal –  down imaginary walls of today´s world in order to make it better. I found friends from the Czech Republic, but also from Canada, Germany and other countries. We were in a competitive environment, but we were instead supporting each other. The whole event was a celebration of brilliant ideas, resolution and hard work. I came back energized for my further research work.“

Falling Walls Lab Czech Republic

Dates

The application deadline for the Falling Walls Lab Czech Republic is 30 June 2019.

The national round of the competition will take place in the early evening of 2 October 2019 at the VIDA! science centre in Brno.

Eligibility

It does not matter what you study or where you work, what matters to us are your ideas! Any kind of project is welcome!

Basic eligibility criteria:

  • Age 18+
  • If you have a Bachelor’s degree, the degree should not date back more than 10 years
  • If you have a Master’s degree, the degree should not date back more than 7 years
  • If you have a PhD, the degree should not date back more than 5 years
  • Postdocs and students currently enrolled in a university are also eligible to apply

Apply at http://www.falling-walls.com/lab/apply, where you can also find detailed information on eligibility.

What can you win in the Falling Walls Lab Czech Republic?

  • A trip to Berlin (incl. travel expenses and accommodation) with scientific excursions and inspirational encounters (braindates)
  • Participation in the Falling Walls Lab world finale in Berlin on 8 November 2019
  • A ticket to the prestigious Falling Walls Conference on 9 November 2019, where you can meet global leaders from the field of science, industry and politics
  • Participation in the Springer Nature event on scientific publishing
  • 1,000 € in prize money
  • 2 preparation workshops on communication skills that will help you improve your presentation for the Berlin finale


The organisers are independent partners of the Falling Walls Foundation. The organizer reserves the right to invite only selected candidates to the Czech National Falling Walls Lab Czech Republic 2019. The selection process will be based on criteria set by Falling Walls Foundation Berlin.

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