Europe’s top female pioneers took centre stage Monday as the winners of the 10th European Prize for Women Innovators were revealed at a ceremony in Brussels. The event was held during the launch of the annual R&I Week, with winners named across three categories: Rising Innovator, Women Innovators, and the EIT Women Leadership category.
Inspiring
Ukraine’s Yuliia Bialetska, the CEO and co-founder of S.lab, which develops alternatives to plastic foam packaging, won the EIT Women Leadership title, for ‘exceptional members of the EIT Community’ and said she will invest her €50k winnings into a fund for the education of her two daughters, to invest directly into the next generation of women innovators.
“My warmest congratulations to all winners and runners-up,” said Iliana Ivanova, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. “Their groundbreaking ideas, passion and determination inspire us all and remind us of the importance of fostering gender balance in Europe’s innovation landscape.”
Awards breakdown
In the Women Innovators category the winner received €100k, with two runners-up walking away with €70k and €50k. The winner of the Rising Innovator category, which is for innovators under 35, got €50k, the two runners-up €30k and €20k respectively. While the EIT Women Leadership winner won €50k, with the two runners-up getting €30k and €20k.
The prestigious annual prize is a joint venture between the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
The winners:
Women Innovators – Winner: Rana Sanyal (Türkiye), chief scientific officer and co-founder of RS Research, which develops smart nanomedicines for targeted chemotherapy. Runners-Up: Natalia Tomiyama (Germany), managing director and co-founder of NÜWIEL, which develops e-trailers that can match the movement of the pedestrian or biker pulling it. And Elena García Armada (Spain), CEO and co-founder of Marsi Bionics, which develops paediatric exoskeletons and robotic knees.
Rising Innovators – Winner: María González Manso (Spain), CEO and co-founder of tucuvi, which automates follow-up phone consultations with empathetic artificial intelligence. Runners-Up: Sara Correyero Plaza (Spain), CEO and co-founder of IENAI SPACE, which develops electric propulsion modules for nanosatellites together with mission optimisation. Bàrbara Oliveira (Ireland), CTO and co-founder of Luminate Medical, whose technology helps prevent the side effects of cancer treatment. And Eva Sadoun (France), CEO and co-founder of Lita.co, which makes it easier to invest in social enterprises.
EIT Women Leadership – Winner: Yuliia Bialetska (Ukraine), CEO and co-founder of S.lab, which develops alternatives to plastic foam packaging. Runners-Up: Deniz Ficicioglu (Germany), managing director and co-founder of BettaF!sh GmbH, which develops seaweed-based alternatives to fish. And Cristina Purtill (Ireland), CEO of Plio Surgical, which developed a magnetic solution to intestinal post-surgery recovery.
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More from Brussels this week…
I’ll be speaking with Lars Frølund, lecturer at MIT and EIC board member, to find out how Europe can become more competitive, in areas like the green transition and deep tech, by better mobilising its capital. We’ll also catch up with Arvea Marieni, technical director of the Regenerative Society Foundation, the leading alliance for a regenerative economy, who we spoke with at COP28 in Dubai. While Anna Panagopoulou, an EIC fund board of directors member, will be sharing insight on the innovation landscape across Europe and the many opportunities that exist to become part of it.
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