The initiative rewards Research and Development (R&D) projects that seek to transform the future of natural resources or energy, and is aimed at students from universities, professional institutes, technical training centers, and master’s and doctoral programs. Applicants may participate in teams of up to five members and must submit a video pitch of no more than three minutes explaining their proposal and its potential impact.

“One of the main challenges of our time is to overcome short-termism and dare to build solutions with a long-term vision. Through ‘Aplica tu idea,’ we want students across Chile to develop science- and technology-based projects that respond to the country’s challenges and generate impact for future generations. Innovation requires looking further ahead, and young people have a key role on that path,” said Alan Farcas, Executive Director of Fundación Copec-UC.

The ten selected teams will each receive $500,000 and take part in an intensive workshop to strengthen their proposal. The winner will obtain $5 million to move forward in the development of their project. Applications are open until August 31 at https://www.fcuc.cl/aplica-tu-idea/.