A TOTAL OF 326 TEAMS FROM 39 COUNTRIES, INCLUDING 15 FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC, ENTERED FOR THE INNOVATION CONTEST

The developers from the four continents will take part in the Telekom Innovation Contest.
Fifteen projects have been entered for the Czech Republic.
The first semi-final will be held in Berlin on May 7, 2014 and the winning team will be declared in Krakow on June 27, 2014.    

Berlin/Prague – April 17, 2014 – Deutsche Telekom is looking, for the second time, for the ideas within the international innovation contest. This year, a total of 326 teams from 39 countries have submitted their ideas in six categories. Fifteen projects have entered the contest for the Czech Republic. The winning project will be announced by the panel of Deutsche Telekom foreign managers in Krakow, Poland, on June 27, 2014. The prizes include the aid for the project up to EUR 150,000, acceptance into the international programs for the beginning entrepreneurs, IT equipment and the further development support.                   

The 2014 contest is supported by the Telekom’s development Innovation Program hub:raum, Kitchen Budapest, UQBATE, a special program for the Deutsche Telekom staff, and seven other national companies from this Group in the Central and Eastern Europe, including the T-Mobile in the Czech Republic.

“All ideas submitted by the Czech developers are highly perspective and are well set to win the support and implementation in the product portfolio of T-Mobile and the whole Deutsche Telekom Group, which will open the door for them to reach millions of customers in future," says Milan Hába, Head of the T-Mobile Category and Product Management.

In 2014, the contest takes a considerable focus on the trends “Cloud-based IT services" and "Future media and communications". In these categories 60 percent of applications were filed. As far as the number of applications is concerned, the Czech developers rank among the best – behind Germany, Hungary, Macedonia and Romania. Each fourth idea was presented by the non-European teams, for instance, from Canada, Indonesia, Hong Kong and South Africa.

“We are supporting this innovation contest as we want to bring together the business starters from abroad and the established players, such as Deutsche Telekom, and to find business opportunities for them within Deutsche Telekom and the network of our partners,” says Axel Menneking, Head of hub:raum International.

12 Teams in the Final

On June 27th, 2013, an expert panel will choose a final winner among 12 finalists when announcing the winners in Krakow. The finalists will be selected from a number of semi-final rounds (the Czech round will be held in Prague on May 12, 2014). The semi-finals will be opened by the contest of German teams at the re:publica international conference with more than 5,000 contestants, to be held in Berlin on May 7, 2014.

For more information on all semi-final rounds, including the Prague one for the Czech projects, please go to the contest website:
http://www.telekom-innovation-contest.com/?page_id=10611.

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.