The prestigious international technology prize HERMES AWARD will be taking place in 2008 for the ffth time. The aim of the award is to highlight ground-breaking innovations and solutions that have already been put to the test by industry. Worth a total of 100,000 euros, the HERMES AWARD is one of the most lucrative industrial prizes worldwide. For the participating companies it represents a unique opportunity to enhance their image and reach a wider audience. The Award is limited to products that are on display for the first time at HANNOVER MESSE 2008.
The products must have undergone industrial trials and/or have already found industrial application. These products must be particularly innovative in terms of their technical and economic realization. All the products submitted for the 2008 HERMES AWARD will be exhibited in Hall 2 in the display category Research & Technology at HANNOVER MESSE from 21 to 25 April 2008.The competition is open to companies and organizations that exhibit their product innovations at HANNOVER MESSE 2008. Entry forms must be submitted by 15 February 2008.
The presentation of the HERMES AWARD 2008 will form part of the official opening of HANNOVER MESSE on 20 April 2008. The prize-winner and the nominated companies will be honoured by Dr. Annette Schavan, German Federal Minister for Education and Research, in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Premier of Lower Saxony, Christian Wulff. An independent jury chaired by Professor Dr.
Wolfgang Wahlster, Director and Chair of the Managing Board of the DFKI (German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence) will select the winner.Last year the coveted HERMES AWARD 2007 was won jointly by Bayer Technology Services GmbH from Leverkusen, Germany, and the London-based Ingenia Technology Ltd. for the innovative ProteXXion technology. As Achim Noack, managing director of Bayer Technology Services GmbH, explains, the Award brought additional publicity: "The HERMES AWARD generated a great deal of interest in our ProteXXion identification technology. During HANNOVER MESSE itself we had many interesting discussions with potential buyers and even months later we enjoyed media attention and were receiving enquiries about the award-winning technology.
The subsequent talks proved most promising."