Varian Start-up Challenge

Innovation Projects VARIAN START-UP CHALLENGE is launched by the Skolkovo Foundation jointly with Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

Contest schedule

Accepting Applications for participation in the Selection including Concepts: 11 February – 11 April 2013

Determination by Selection Committee of contest winner(s): 12 April – 11 June 2013

Announcement of finalist and Award: 12 June 2013

Selected Applicants must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible to submit an Application:

1. individuals, at the time of registration are at least eighteen (18) years old, who are citizens or permanent residents of the Russian Federation or the CIS
2. legal entities registered in Russian Federation or the CIS

About restrictions on participation in the competition, see the Terms and Conditions.

Application form is accepted for consideration in the provision of all required information in two languages ​​- Russian and English.

Applicants are allowed to submit more than one application.

Applicants agree not to publish the application materials until the Announcement of finalist and Award.

The entire application - the result of the original work done by the Applicant, and the Applicant shall have all rights, licenses, permits and consent required to apply.

"Application" is the original R&D project based on the solution of problems in the following topics:

1. Solutions for treatment planning systems in beam therapy, including problems of defining the biological dose;
2. New technologies in brachytherapy, including electronic brachytherapy and applicators;
3. Target and organ-at-risk detection and contouring technologies, compensation of day-to-day deformities on images made by the methods of computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI);
4. Solutions for developing compact and low cost proton accelerators for local treatment applications;
5. Suggestions on development of the new target materials and target constructions (including cooling systems) for converting electron beams to megavoltage X-ray beams.

To participate in the contest you need to:

1. to register online www.sk.ru
2. to fill the Application form, consisting of

Questionnaire and Presentation of the project

Application form will be sent automatically to the Competition organizers (representatives of Nuclear Technology Cluster of Skolkovo Foundation) for initial review.

Then Application form will be submitted for consideration by the Selection Committee, consisting of representatives of Varian, the Skolkovo Foundation and independent experts to decide on the winner / winners of the competition (until 11 June, 2013).

Until 12 June 2013 the Competition organizers will send a status notice to each Applicant regarding its application

The Selection Committee has the right to:

1. disqualify an Application form, or
2. require an Applicant to submit a revised, refined description of the Application form.

Applicants must be prepared to demonstrate their technical solution or a prototype (if any).

For the evaluation of applications, the following criteria:

1. Novelty and technical feasibility of the project
2. The balance of the project team on the objectives of the project
3. The time to complete the project / research (no more than 2 years)
4. The size of the potential market and prospects for commercialization of the project for 5 years
5. The costs to complete the project

After confirmation of the Selection Committee winner or winners will receive prizes:

1. Prize from Varian - 50,000 U.S. dollars
2. Special Award from the Foundation infrastructure and educational programs Rusnano - not less than 50 000 U.S. dollars in the form of investment in the project at the stake, which is determined by the winner.

APPLYING FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS CONTEST, YOU AGREE fully and unconditionally with all conditions and provisions of CONTEST documentation.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ANY termS or conditionS of CONTEST documentation, DO NOT APPLY.