Rules and criteria

The European Inventor Network consists mainly of former finalists and/or winners of the European Inventor Award and the Young Inventors Prize.  In addition, proposals for new members, submitted via National Patent Offices, shall also be considered

In early 2025, the next call for inspiring activities will be launched.

Any activity which can spur in school kids/young teens a long-term interest in the relationship between innovation, science, technology, engineering and math studies (STEM) and its close connect with entrepreneurship can be proposed. Priority will be given to activities targeted at primary and secondary schools. The material costs can not exceed the amount of the grant (ex: for a grant of €2000 the material costs cannot exceed €2000). The focus of the activities could be for instance be on:

• focus on innovation/entrepreneurship,
• emerging technologies,
• success stories

If possible, the activity should preferably demonstrate a link to one of the 17 UN SDGs.

An EPO internal selection committee whose role is to select the activities for which a payment will be granted by the network will review all the proposals submitted by the alumni.

The evaluation will be based on the following criteria: the impact and outreach, relevance and pedagogical content, target audience of the proposed activities. Furthermore, diversity in terms of geographical coverage, gender and targeted audience for the proposed activities will be considered by the internal selection committee.

The Network will fund the activities which have been selected by the internal selection committee, granting to the selected Network member EUR 6 000, EUR 4 000 or EUR 2 000 (depending on the impact of the activities) for implementing the activities.

These grants should cover the preparation and implementation costs.

Travel/subsistence/material costs (if any) will be paid on top of the grant upon receipt of proof once the activity has been implemented. 

The amount of travel + subsistence + material costs cannot exceed the amount of the grant.

The members whose proposed activity has been selected will be asked to sign a legally binding agreement in which they agree to implement the activity and to refund the payment if the activity is not implemented before the end of the activity program.

After the completion of the activity, the members should provide:

• a short report on the event,
• a confirmation from the school/university where the activity took place,
• A video and photographs from the event for use on the EPO's social media (ex: photograph of the inventor posing next to the schools emblem at their entrance, an inventor writing on a board, set up of a science experiment, etc...). The videos and pictures should only display students whose parents have signed a consent form. This form will be provided by the European Inventor Network team to the Network member.

Protecting your privacy is of the utmost importance to the European Patent Office (EPO). We are committed to protecting your personal data and ensuring respect for data subjects' rights when performing our tasks and providing our services. All data of a personal nature that identify you directly or indirectly will be processed lawfully, fairly and with due care.

The processing operations described below are subject to the EPO Data Protection Rules (European Inventor Network data protection statement).

The alumni shall abstain from any act, and in particular, any public expression of opening which may reflect on the dignity of the European Patent Office or which may pose a risk to or compromise the reputation and interests of the European Patent Organisation.

The EPO is not held accountable for the opinions and views expressed by the alumni during the implementation of the activities.

All grants awarded will be published on the EPO's internet site.

The EPO may identify good practices and prepare relevant dissemination materials to be shared within and throughout all participating alumni.