[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6362\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u2018Internet of moving things\u2019 wins EU\u2019s Women Innovators prize\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This is not only a prize for myself but a prize for all the team,\u2019 said Dr Sargento, accepting the award from Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation. \u2018I hope that with our network that we\u2019ll be able to have very smart cities everywhere very soon.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea behind Veniam is to use vehicles such as taxis, buses and garbage trucks to build a communications network in order to expand wireless coverage within cities and create a so-called internet of moving things.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Sargento co-founded the company in 2012 as a spin-out from the Portuguese universities of Aveiro, Porto and the Institute of Telecommunications, and is backed by companies such as Verizon Ventures and Cisco Investments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe has four patents and 30 publications to her name, and has been involved in a number of EU-funded research projects including FUTURE-CITIES, which helped to network more than 600 vehicles in the city of Porto, Portugal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU\u2019s Prize for Women Innovators award is designed to give public recognition to female entrepreneurs who have successfully turned scientific research into a business.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018I am pretty convinced that 2016 is going to be the year of women in the economy.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003ESaskia Van Uffelen, chief executive of Ericsson Benelux\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Recognising women\u2019s contribution to science and society is something we need to get a lot better at,\u2019 said Commissioner Moedas, who presented the three prizes of EUR 100 000, EUR 50 000 and EUR 30 000 to the winners.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Whether it\u2019s the Oscars or Nobel Prizes, women deserve to be recognised equally. I am very proud that the EU provides the biggest prize for women (researchers who become) innovators in the world today. And I hope that soon, such prizes will be normal and not exceptional, as today.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Sargento said that the award meant a lot from both a professional and personal point of view. \u2018From one side there is the recognition, someone else recognises what we are doing. From the other side there is also confidence, so we get this stronger boost (and can say) ok let\u2019s move forward, let\u2019s continue, let\u2019s think about the next stage.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe second prize was awarded to Professor Sirpa Jalkanen, co-founder of the publicly listed Finnish companies BioTie Therapies and Faron Pharmaceuticals, which build on her discovery of molecules that could be used as drug targets to prevent harmful inflammations and the spread of cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I would really encourage to continue this type of prize because it really gives visibility to women, at least in European circles but also globally,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Commissioner Carlos Moedas presented (L-R) Dr Sarah Bourke, Professor Sirpa Jalkanen and Dr Susana Sargento with Womens Innovator prizes. Image courtesy of the European Commission\u0022 height=\u0022799\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/FG_160310_TEAMWORK_WOMEN_011.jpeg\u0022 title=\u0022(l-r) Commissioner Carlos Moedas presented Dr Sarah Bourke, Professor Sirpa Jalkanen and Dr Susana Sargento with Womens Innovator prizes. Image courtesy of the European CommissionCommissioner Carlos Moedas presented (L-R) Dr Sarah Bourke, Professor Sirpa Jalkanen and Dr Susana Sargento with Womens Innovator prizes. Image courtesy of the European Commission\u0022 width=\u00221200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003ECommissioner Carlos Moedas presented (L-R) Dr Sarah Bourke, Professor Sirpa Jalkanen and Dr Susana Sargento with Womens Innovator prizes. Image courtesy of the European Commission\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Sarah Bourke, chief executive of Skytek Ltd, an Irish space-tech company that develops software to help astronauts control and manage emergency situations on board the International Space Station, was awarded third prize.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018As a group we\u2019re showing Europe and the world that there\u2019s a lot to be done with encouraging women into science and technology,\u2019 she said. \u2018I think everybody in the competition is a good role model for that.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDialogue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe awards ceremony followed a so-called Citizens\u2019 Dialogue entitled Women Innovate, Europe Gains, where members of the public met Commissioner Moedas to talk about gender equality and the role of women innovators in society.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring the event, Commissioner Moedas emphasised the importance of diversity in innovation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022 Commissioner Carlos Moedas and Ericsson Belux CEO Saskia Van Uffelen answered questions from the public during a citizen\u0027s dialogue on 10 March. Image courtesy of the European Commission\u0022 height=\u0022715\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/citizens%20dialogue.jpeg\u0022 title=\u0022 Commissioner Carlos Moedas and Ericsson Belux CEO Saskia Van Uffelen answered questions from the public during a citizen\u0027s dialogue on 10 March. Image courtesy of the European Commission\u0022 width=\u00221200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003ECommissioner Carlos Moedas and Ericsson Belux CEO Saskia Van Uffelen answered questions from the public during a citizen\u0027s dialogue on 10 March. Image courtesy of the European Commission\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018One of the things that sometimes CEOs have a tendency to do, is to hire people like them because you can get things sorted quicker. (But) innovation is tough, it hurts, it is difficult. If someone very different from me \u2026 tells me a truth that I don\u2019t want to hear it\u2019s tough - but it\u2019s good. At the end of the day, the result is better.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU\u2019s She Figures 2015, which set out the current state of gender equality in research and innovation in the EU, found that while women made up a third of researchers in all sectors in 2011, they only accounted for 19.7 % of researchers in the business enterprise sector in the same year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe report, which was published in full on 10 March, also found that women are two times less likely than men to work in the business enterprise sector, and that just 9 % of patent applications in the EU between 2010 and 2013 registered a woman as the inventor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommissioner Moedas said: \u2018If you want to be competitive, you have to have diversity. That\u2019s why gender equality, it\u2019s just economic sense. It\u2019s of course about justice and fairness, we all know that. But apart from that it is our job because if we want to compete with the other parts of the world, we need that.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, Saskia Van Uffelen, chief executive of Ericsson Belux, who also spoke at the event, said that she was convinced that 2016 would be the year of the female chief executive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Society is evolving. We need people who are capable of change, collaborating, innovating, creating. And guess what? What are the female competencies? Innovating, creating, collaborating, bringing people together, daring to be disruptive. So I am pretty convinced that 2016 is going to be the year of women in the economy.\u2019\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EWomen Innovators prize 2016\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EThere were 64 entries to the 2016 EU Prize for Women Innovators award, which is in its third edition following competitions in 2011 and 2014. In order to enter, participants should have founded or co-founded a company with a turnover of at least EUR 100 000 in 2013 and 2014, and their research must have benefitted from EU funding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe entries were whittled down to a shortlist of 21 and then nine by an independent jury made up of representatives from venture capital, entrepreneurship, business angels, academia and corporate leadership, who then settled on three winners.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea behind the prize is to inspire other women to follow in the footsteps of the prize-winners.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-j24fs3qdshk3jxpom1owjdxygy1ef-n46xyr9ztwibo\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-j24FS3qDshK3Jxpom1owjdXYgy1Ef_N46XYR9ztWIbo\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]