tecnet | accent Innovation Award 2026

Does your research have an innovative character and the potential for further economic development? Do your inventions and research findings contribute to addressing societal challenges and have the potential to benefit many people? Are you a researcher, graduate or student at the University for Continuing Education Krems, IMC Krems University of Applied Sciences, Karl Landsteiner University or Danube Private University?

Then submit your research project for the seventh tecnet | accent Innovation Award, presented at the University for Continuing Education Krems. In addition to attractive prize money, the Innovation Award offers you the opportunity to present your research to a broad interested audience, connect with other researchers and exchange experiences.

Projects from both basic and applied research can be submitted. 
We are looking for ideas and solutions that address socially relevant issues such as health, education, mobility or digitalization and have the potential to generate benefits for society.

The application deadline is Monday, November 23, 2026.

A coaching workshop will provide information on the steps and challenges involved in bringing research findings to economic implementation and will prepare participants for presenting their projects to the expert jury. If required, the coaching workshop can also be held in English.

Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2026, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., University for Continuing Education Krems, SE C3.08

Participation in the workshop is recommended.

Please register for the workshop by October 31, 2026, by email to: innovationaward@donau-uni.ac.at.

Submit your application for the tecnet | accent Innovation Award 2026 now!

The application must include

• Poster (A0 format)
• CV
• Written consent from your supervisor, if applicable
• Language: German or English

Please submit the digital application materials (poster, CV and written consent) by email to:

innovationaward@donau-uni.ac.at.

The application deadline is November 23, 2026.

You can use the following criteria and questions to present your research and its potential for economic and societal impact:

• What are the results of my research project or invention, and what benefits do they offer?
• Who could benefit from them?
• What could a potential product or service based on my results look like?
• What problem or issue could my product or service address, and what benefits would it provide?
• What further development steps are needed to enable economic implementation and generate societal benefits?
• If my idea could contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), what could this contribution look like and how could my idea help achieve these goals?

Answering these questions can help you present your research and develop initial ideas about its potential economic implementation and societal impact.

Participants will present their projects in a 10-minute presentation to an expert jury. To take part in the jury presentation, applicants must bring a printed A0 poster. Applicants are asked to print the poster themselves and bring it to the presentation.
The jury will consist of one representative each from the following institutions: University for Continuing Education Krems, IMC Krems University of Applied Sciences, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Danube Private University, tecnet equity NÖ Technologiebeteiligungs-Invest GmbH and accent Inkubator GmbH.
The poster and presentation will form the basis for the evaluation of the projects.

Submitting and presenting the poster to the jury does not constitute publication.

The date of the award ceremony will be announced at a later date.

The prizes are sponsored by tecnet equity NÖ Technologiebeteiligungs-Invest GmbH and accent Inkubator GmbH. The prize money is at the winner's free disposal. In the case of team submissions, the prize money will be divided among the team members.

Prize money

1^st prize:      €1,500
2^nd prize:     €1,000
3^rd prize:      €500