Valeo Innovation Challenge 2018

Innovate for the car of tomorrow! Create your own start-up!

Rules

 

VALEO INNOVATION CHALLENGE

2018 COMPETITION RULES

 

 

Presentation of the contest

Valeo Innovation Challenge

Context, challenges and aims

Valeo has launched the fifth Valeo Innovation Challenge. Through this Challenge, Valeo wishes to encourage students from all around the world not only to innovate but also to develop their sense of entrepreneurship by offering the winners the chance to create their own start-up.

The aim of the competition is to reward an innovative project, whether it concerns a technological innovation or an idea for new ways to use cars. Participants should propose new solutions in one of the three areas revolutionizing the automotive industry today:

- Vehicle electrification

- Autonomous vehicles

- Digital mobility

 

Students are asked to develop bold and revolutionary solutions for the benefit of society.

The competition is a way for Valeo to show that innovation lies at the core of its DNA and that Research and Development is a priority for the group. It is a guiding principle for Valeo’s 14,000 engineers who each day innovate to invent the car of tomorrow.

 

The selection criteria for the projects are:

  • Bold, innovative and original idea of the project
  • Challenges and relevance of the problem addressed and how the expectations of automakers, end-users and society have been factored in
  • Project quality with a view to creating a start-up:

- Project feasibility

- Structured business model

 

At the end of the competition, the sum of €200,000 will be shared, as decided by the jury, between the winning team of the Challenge and two second-place winners, in accordance with the provisions of Article 8.

 

The deadline for submitting entries is Friday, March 30, 2018 at 12 p.m. (noon), Paris (France) time.

 

HOW TO ENTER

 

Documents relating to the contest and the online entry information are available on the website: 

https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com

 

ARTICLE 1. ORGANIZER

The organizer of the contest is Valeo, a limited liability company (société anonyme) with a share capital of €238,387,620, headquartered at 43 rue Bayen 75848 Paris Cedex 17 (552 030 967 RCS Paris), hereafter “the organizer".

 

ARTICLE 2. PURPOSE OF THE CONTEST

The challenge: “Become an active force in automobile innovation by proposing new solutions in one of the three areas revolutionizing the auto industry today:

- Vehicle electrification

- Autonomous vehicles

- Digital mobility

 

ARTICLE 3. ELIGIBILITY AND ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

The contest is open to students worldwide who have completed their high school education, from any discipline, and to teachers (maximum of one teacher per team), with one entry per person (with same name and same email address).

 

Participants must be able to travel outside their country of residence and possess, by October 2018, a passport that is still valid for six months after the date scheduled for awarding the prizes (October 2018).

 

The following people may not enter the contest:

  • The organizer’s employees and their children
  • The employees, and their children, of any company directly involved with Valeo
  • People who have been involved in organizing the contest, and their children
  • People who have a conflict of interest (especially interns, apprentices and PhD students still working for the company) throughout the competition

 

ARTICLE 4. COMPETITION SCHEDULE

The competition starts on Wednesday, November 15, 2017, and the deadline for submitting entries is Friday, March 30, 2018 at 12 p.m. (noon), Paris (France) time.

Valeo experts and external experts will assess the projects from April 2 to June 15, 2018.

The nine finalists will move on to project acceleration from June 16 to September 28, 2018.

The prizes will be awarded in October 12, 2018 in Paris, France.

The organizers reserve the right, in case of force majeure or for any reason beyond their control, to modify the dates of the competition. They cannot be held liable in this regard.

 

ARTICLE 5. HOW TO ENTER

To enter, complete the online form on the website: https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com

Any entry form that is incomplete or that contains inaccuracies will not be taken into account and will result, automatically and ipso jure, in the disqualification from the contest of the team in question.

Participants are required to compete using their true identities. The organizer reserves the right to carry out all checks that may be necessary.

Participants must compete in teams made of two to five people maximum, which may include an academic teacher. The constitution of the team shall only be considered definitive on completion of the registration phase. It will be possible to change team members during this phase (from Wednesday, November 15, 2017 to Friday, March 30, 2018, noon, Paris time). Once this phase has been completed, no more changes will be accepted. If however a member decides to leave the team after this phase, the team must inform the organizer by email. The team cannot remain in the running if it has fewer than two members.

Each team must appoint a leader who will represent it and who must be one of the students in the team. The leader will be the Valeo contact person. He/she will coordinate with the other team members. 

The organizer shall not be held responsible for any disagreements that may arise among the members of a team or between different teams and accordingly, cannot intervene.

Entry in the contest implies the unreserved acceptance of these regulations in full, rules of conduct and laws, regulations and other legislation applicable in France.

The organizer shall not be bound to return the entries presented, once the contest is over.

 

ARTICLE 6. CONTEST PROCEDURE

The selection process is as follows: 

PHASE 1: CALL FOR ENTRIES AND REGISTRATION PHASE

From Friday, October 27, 2017 to Friday, March 30, 2018, 12 p.m. (noon) – Paris time 

Students are invited to form teams made up of two to five people (which may include an academic teacher), and can register for the contest via the website https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com. They must submit their project with:

- A pitch (MP4 video file format), no longer than three minutes, explaining the project in a clear, audible, and simple manner

- A slide show of five slides presenting the team; the problem identified; the current or known solutions; the technical solution proposed; the target market; and the business model

The specifications defined by the organizer for this phase will be published online at https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com 

During this phase the teams may modify the content of their entries, whether this involves the team members or the content of their project.

 

Project evaluation (from April 2, 2018 to June 15, 2018)

The organizer, assisted by Valeo’s Marketing and R&D Experts along with external experts, will select the nine best projects on the following criteria:

  • Bold, innovative and original idea of the project: (40%)
  • Challenges and relevance of the problem dealt with and how the expectations

  of automakers, end-users and society have been factored in:         (20%)

  • Project quality with a view to creating a start-up: (40%)
    • - Project feasibility
      • - Structured business model

 

Once this has been completed, nine finalists will be selected.

Valeo will announce the results to all candidates.

The list of the nine finalist teams selected will be published on the website https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com and on social media on Friday, June 15, 2018.

  

Phase 2: ACCELERATION OF THE NINE FINALIST PROJECTS

From June 16 to September 28, 2018

The nine finalist teams will be asked to finalize their project as a five-minute-long pitch with a slide show and/or video component and/or prototype to explain:

- The problem identified

- The solution proposed

- The market research

- The impact on society

- The business model 

 

The teams will be given the opportunity to work on project acceleration remotely in order to further develop the project on various issues, such as their understanding of the automobile market, the technical content, the business model, the pitch preparation for the final round, etc.

The specifications defined by the organizer for this phase will be published online at https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com

 

Phase 3: THE FINAL ROUND BEFORE THE JURY

October 2018

The project presentations will take place indoors. When a teacher forms part of a team, the project must be presented by the students and not by the teacher. The project shall remain the property of the team.  The oral presentation may be shared by the various members of the team. The oral presentation will last five minutes, followed by a ten-minute Q&A session.

 

The organizer shall bear the cost of traveling to Paris (France) by the members of the nine finalist teams, including return tickets and accommodation, excluding meals, beverages, personal expenses, excursions, visits other than those planned by the organizer, the cost of which will be borne by the finalists.

 

ARTICLE 7. JURY MEMBERS

The composition of the jury is determined by the contest organizer.

The jury will be chaired by the Chairman and CEO of Valeo and composed of Valeo managers as well as figures from outside the group, well known for their professional experience and competence (scientific, design, sociological, philosophical, entrepreneurial, etc.).

 

The jury will select the three winning teams and will determine the prize amount (a total of  €200,000) to be awarded to each one.

 

The jury is sovereign and is not required to provide reasons for its choice of winning teams or for the allocation of prize money for each team. Accordingly, no claims shall be accepted with regard to the selection or the prize amount of each winning team.

 

ARTICLE 8. PRIZES

At the end of the competition, the sum of €200,000 will be shared, as decided by the jury, between the three winning teams. The three winning teams will have to create a start-up within a deadline of six months after the results have been announced. The prize money shall be paid out to the newly created company, subject to legal and fiscal requirements. Once the deadline has expired, the prize money can no longer be paid out. 

In exchange, Valeo will take a 5% stake in the equity of the future companies. 

They will also have the benefit of being introduced to investors and the world’s best start-up accelerators. 

The organizers reserve the right to request proof of the winning start-up’s existence (a Kbis if in France, or a certificate of registration if outside of France) and of its compliance with fiscal regulations, to award each prize.

Any prize money not awarded will not be put back into play.

 

ARTICLE 9. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Participants shall guarantee on their honor that they are the sole creators and owners of the idea and project presented for the contest, that the projects have not already been partially or fully disclosed (through public presentations, patents, etc.) and are not the result of plagiarism. 

No claims may be made by other teams on projects drawing on the development(s) of projects previously presented to Valeo Innovation Challenge, when based on general scientific principles. 

The project shall remain the intellectual property of the team.

 

Intellectual property rights will be allocated on a case-by-case basis, in agreement with the inventors and taking specific local legal rules into account.

Any patents that are filed will be followed up by Valeo as soon as this is necessary, and in agreement with the team members.

  

ARTICLE 10. PUBLICITY AND IMAGE RIGHTS

Throughout the contest, Valeo will communicate on the identity of the teams and the progress of their projects. Accordingly, the teams undertake to provide biographical details and photographs requested by Valeo and agree to these being published on the website:

https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com and on its social media accounts as part of the communication campaign for the contest, until the end of 2020.

The winners expressly agree to the free usage and publication of these data on any media and for any advertising or promotional campaign related to this contest, until the end of 2020.

All of the nominative information that the participants provide when registering or during the contest are intended solely for Valeo which may share it internally and transfer it only to its technical service providers, for the smooth running of this challenge. 

In accordance with Article 27 of the French Data Protection Act of January 6, 1978, the participants have the right to access, correct, or delete any data that concerns them and may object to the processing of this information by writing to the following address:

Valeo

Direction de la Communication

43, rue Bayen

75848 Paris Cedex 17

France

 

ARTICLE 11. CANCELLATION - MODIFICATION

The organizer reserves the right, if justified by circumstances, of canceling or postponing the contest.

These regulations may be modified without notice during the course of the contest. In this event, participants will be informed on the website, and the modified regulations will be filed with SCP Darricau-Pecastaing and published in the same way as the original version. No claims will be accepted in such circumstances.

 

ARTICLE 12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

The organizer shall under no circumstances be held liable for the following (non-exhaustive list):

  • Defectiveness of any reception equipment or lines of communication
  • The loss of any paper or electronic mail and, more generally, the loss of any data
  • Forwarding problems
  • The consequences of any virus, computer bug, anomaly, technical defect
  • Any damage caused to any participant's computer

 

Participants are reminded of the limits of the Internet network, especially with regard to technical performances, response times for consulting or transferring information, the overloading of the network and the risks of contamination by virus. The organizer may not be held responsible for any material and immaterial damage caused to participants, to their IT equipment and there data stored thereon as well as for the consequences that may arise and affect the results of the participants in the contest or their personal or professional activities. It is up to participants to take all appropriate steps in order to protect their own data and/or software stored on their IT equipment against any form of hacking. Connection to the website https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com and entering the contest is carried out under participants’ sole responsibility.

 

The organizer reserves the right to take legal action against any cheating or attempt at cheating. However, the organizer shall bear no liability of any sort with regard to other participants in the event of any cheating.

The organizer shall under no circumstances be held liable for any physical injury which the finalists may suffer outside the premises where Valeo organizes the events.

When they come to Paris for the awarding of the prizes, finalists must adopt appropriate behavior and take all necessary precautions, especially to prevent theft. The organizer shall under no circumstances be responsible for theft of equipment or valuables wherever this may be committed.

 

ARTICLE 13. APPLICABLE LAW AND JURISDICTION

These regulations are subject to French law.

Any disputes that cannot be settled amicably shall be settled exclusively by the competent courts of Paris, even if there is more than one defendant, including incidental claims and guarantees.

 

ARTICLE 14. CONFIDENTIALITY

Participants in the contest undertake not to disclose any information about the content of their projects before the announcement of the winners.

 

ARTICLE 15. REGULATIONS

These regulations have been filed with Maître Pecastaing – bailiff – 4 Place Constantin Pecqueur, 75018 Paris.

The regulations can be consulted on the firm's website (in French) at http://www.etude-dp.fr in the section Jeux concours, and Consulter les règlements de jeux-concours, as well as on:

https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com

 

A copy of the regulations will be sent by post, free of charge, to any participant who requests one from the organizer (Valeo Direction de la Communication – Concours Valeo Innovation Challenge – 43 rue Bayen – 75017 Paris, France) indicating his/her full personal details (last name, first name, postal address) before October 31, 2018 at midnight (with proof of postmark). A single copy per participant will be provided.

 

ARTICLE 16. CONTACTS

Candidates may send in questions at any time to the following address:

questionsvaleoinnovationchallenge.mailbox@valeo.com

 

ARTICLE 17. REIMBURSEMENT OF PARTICIPATION COSTS (INTERNET CONNECTION COSTS)

Any participant in the contest who has complied with the access and participation terms and conditions for the contest, as set out in these regulations and by connecting to the website https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com, from a fixed Internet connection, may apply for reimbursement of these costs by writing to:

Valeo

Direction de la Communication

Concours Valeo Innovation Challenge

43, rue Bayen

75848 Paris Cedex 17

France

before January 31, 2018 at midnight (with proof of postmark) or at the latest within ten (10) calendar days following the date on the invoice in question from the Internet access provider, if the participant receives it after the above deadline.

 

Any application for reimbursement of participation costs must include, in a legible manner, the following information:

– Last name, first name and full postal address of the participant

– The name of the contest and the site’s URL

– The dates and times of connections

– An itemized copy of the access provider’s invoice to which the participant subscribes, showing the dates and times of connection that must be clearly underlined

– Bank account details of the participant stating the name of the bank, the country of residence, the IBAN and SWIFT codes.

 

In order to claim reimbursement of connection costs, participants must access the contest using a modem and a telephone line invoiced according to the time of communication or by call exclusively (excluding free or lump sum connections such as cable, ADSL or special links). The reimbursement of connections will be made on the basis of an average Internet connection time of three minutes at a lump sum cost of €0.14 per minute, i.e. €0.42 per connection. Postage costs for requesting reimbursement will be reimbursed, on written request with the request for the reimbursement of connection costs, at the current French postal rate (basis: 20g). Reimbursement will be made by bank transfer within a period of sixty calendar days as of receipt of the request for reimbursement and following verification of the request.

 

ARTICLE 18. HOSTING

The Valeo Innovation Challenge site

https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com is hosted by Prosodie, 150 rue Gallieni, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt, France.