Round 1 Sign up!
Round 1 takes place until the 12th February and is your chance to participate. The only requirements for this round are a short description of your idea (300 words) and to have a team with 2 to 5 students. Send the idea and teammate information (names, contact info and education) to idea@cleantechchallenge.nl before the 12th of february and you're in!

We understand that there's a good chance you don't have a team right now, or an idea. Right now you'll probably fall in to one of two categories:

2) You don’t have an idea, but you're dying to participate? Don’t fret! There are people who need you to strengthen their team! You just haven't met them yet.

 

We'll be having a number of events to accomplish these things:

 

The Kick-off
On December 7th we will kick‐off at the YES!Delft HQ with several guest speakers talking about clean technology, entrepreneurship and the incredibly powerful opportunities that can develop from a combination of the two. Following the inspirational talks there will be a short presentation of the organization of the Cleantech Challenge accompanied with a brief explanation of the participation requirements. Click here to read more and to sign up!

 

Networking events
There will be networking events during this round. These events are meant to unite those of you with a technical background and those with a business-oriented background. Try to mingle and have at least one person from each background in your team! A maximum of five participants per team is allowed.

 

Your idea will be judged by a panel of professionals. They will select the twenty best ideas who will have the privilege to continue the Cleantech Challenge.

 

Round 2 Grow your idea!
This round will take place from 12 February until 12 March. The participating teams will be announced on XX-XX-XX. If you are one of the lucky teams that made it this far, you will be able to attend workshops especially designed to enable you to start developing your idea and business plan.

 

Workshops
There will be two workshops hosted by multinationals active in the clean technology sector, who will give you real, practical advice from experts in the field! If you listen closely, they will truly help you develop your idea as well as gain knowledge about the sector and the market – priceless!

In this round, you will have gotten help in further developing your idea. At the end of this phase, the eight best ideas will be selected by a professional jury to go through to round 3.

Round 3 Impress the judges
If you’ve made it this far, your idea must pretty amazing! This deserves a reward.Round 3 takes place from March 12th until the first week of April, which is when the Dutch finale will take place.

 

One-on-one consultancy
We are giving the eight best teams the opportunity to attend an in-house day at McKinsey & Company, one of the most prestigious consultancy companies in the world. Your team will get valuable one-on-one time with a consultant whose expert advice will help you dot the i’s and cross the t’s for your business plan and pitch. In addition, you will get the opportunity to network with them at a drinks event meant exclusively for the eight winning teams – ideal if you want to set up your own company with your idea, but also if you want to be a strategy consultant.

 

The eight teams left in this round will also be able to attend one more workshop hosted by a multinational active in the clean technology sector.

 

Professional Assessment of Business Plan
By this point, you should have a fully developed business plan for your idea, created using the information and help provided by the multinationals and McKinsey. This business plan will be assessed by business experts based on its viability and professionalism, to ensure that you are 100% ready to pitch to investors!

 

All Energy Day
If you’ve made it to Round 3, you will get the opportunity to pitch your idea during the All Energy Day, a day focused wholly on renewable energy which will be attended by many investors active in the field. This event is independent of the finals and is meant purely for your benefit – who knows, you might be able to garner your start-up capital here!

 

The Dutch Finals
The finale of the Dutch Clean Tech Challenge will take place in the first week of April. You’ll have to pitch your idea to a jury consisting of representatives from the Erasmus University Rotterdam and the TU Delft, as well as representatives from the sponsoring multinationals and McKinsey. The winner will win a monetary sum, as well as being able to go on a fully sponsored trip to the Global Cleantech Finals in London!