Emerging Technologies News ZON Prize for Multimedia Creativity ZON Prize for Multimedia Creativity
- 15/12/2008The Prize to Stimulate Research into Digital Applications and Content (text in Portuguese), co-financed by ZON and by Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) and by CoLab – International Collaboration for Emerging Technologies set up within the scope of the UTexas Austin – Portugal Program which is taking place as part of the Partnerships for the Future initiative, was awarded on 15 December 2008 in Estoril. This prize seeks to promote innovation and award excellence, stimulate and deepen research in the area of digital applications and content.
This prize has the largest monetary value awarded in Portugal in a competition of this kind, with the total amount of prize money totalling 200 thousand Euros, distributed amongst three categories: Applications, Multimedia Content, Short Films.
ZON Multimédia finances the prize, FCT co-finances it through granting research scholarships and CoLab organises the placing of the winner or collaborator in research project teams in Portugal under the scope of the UTexas Austin - Portugal Program, including a temporary stay at the University of Texas in Austin, in the USA.
Nuno Rocha was the winner of the first holding of the ZON Prize for Multimedia Creativity, with the Short Film “3X3”, and also obtained a Study Scholarship at the University of Texas in Austin.
The company Comm Together, lda received 1st Prize in the Applications Category with the Application “Astrolab 0.1”, a multimedia multi-platform content viewer which enables users to consult information related to visual representations of spaces and equipment.
In the Multimedia Content Category, 1st Place was awarded ex-aequo to the work “Measurement Instrumentation Laboratories”, produced by a team of researchers and members of staff of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto headed by Maria Teresa Restivo, and “surfertoday.com”, by Luís Madureira Pinto. The first work is an e-book which allows interactive access to measurement concepts, methodologies, and techniques by university students and professionals in Engineering, Physics, Bio-engineering and similar areas, and the second is a water sports portal made in Portugal and used all over the World.
The ceremony also included the handing over of Diplomas for the Finalists and Honourable Mentions to the 10 best pieces of work in each category. These items will also be submitted to IAPMEI for assessment and possible financing.
The Jury for the Award was chaired by the CEO of ZON, Rodrigo Costa, and included members of the company and individuals of recognised competence in the fields of creativity and innovation. These individuals included Professor José Encarnação, the Portuguese academic who set up and manages the largest and most prestigious world research network into the processing of graphic information, INI-GraphicsNet.
The ZON Prize for Multimedia Creativity was launched in April 2008 and received more than 100 submissions. Applications for the next holding of the prize will open at the beginning of 2009.