Israel Brain Technologies

All Applications are required to describe and substantiate a significant achievement in the field of brain technology based on inventions or discoveries made during the last three (3) years (“Submitted Achievement“).

The Submitted Achievement must:

1    Be well-substantiated by research results, publications, proof of concept results, working prototype or otherwise;

2    Be an innovative, original, novel or groundbreaking application, technology or method in the field of brain technologies;

3    Demonstrate significance of technology and impact to humanity; and

4    Have a clear path to commercialization.

The Competition is intended for individuals, teams, corporations, or organizations that meet the eligibility criteria set forth herein. The following are eligible candidates who may apply for the Competition:

1   Individuals. There are no restrictions as to age and sex. If a candidate is under 18 years of age, a parent or any other legal guardian must submit the application for the Competition on the individual’s behalf. Individuals cannot be members in more than one team, corporation, or organization. Individuals must be able to participate the final phase at the Brain Technology Conference to be held in Israel.

2    Teams. A group of individuals may participate even if not incorporated, if the nature of their contribution to the Submitted Achievement justifies their participation. A team must designate a team leader, who will file the Application on behalf of each of the team members. The team leader will be the representative of the team throughout the Competition. In the event that a team wins the B.R.A.I.N Prize, the team leader will be invited to receive the B.R.A.I.N Prize award at the Israel Brain Conference, though all team members may attend the Award Ceremony at their own expense. No changes will be allowed in the composition of the team or the identity of the team leader after the Deadline. The B.R.A.I.N Prize will be paid to the designated bank account as appears in the Application submitted by the team. The representatives designated by any team must be able to travel to Israel and attend the International Brain Technology Conference, if invited.

3   Corporations; Organizations. To be eligible, a corporation and/or organization must be a validly incorporated, existing and good standing legal entity (whether non-profit or for-profit organizations), under the laws of the jurisdiction in which they were incorporated. Each corporation shall appoint a representative, who shall be identified in the Application. All dealings with corporations shall be made solely through their designated representatives. Each corporation shall provide an approval for the authority of such person to represent the Company in the Competition. The representatives designated by Corporations must be able to travel to Israel in order to attend the International Brain Technology Conference.

Corporations, Teams and Individuals applying for the Competition  by completing and submitting the Application form shall be referred to as Candidates.Any representation made by any person submitting an Application shall be deemed made by the Candidate and any of the individuals comprising the Candidate, in case the Candidate is a Team.

Candidates applying for the B.R.A.I.N Prize whether as individuals or as a team leader must be living persons at the time of receiving the award.

Candidates must be holders of a valid bank account, into which the B.R.A.I.N Prize funds, if and as applicable can legally be deposited from Israel.

IBT reserves the right to limit or restrict upon notice, participation in the Competition of any Candidate due to any illegal activity of such Candidate.

Eligible candidates may apply to the Competition by submitting an application form electronically at www.israelbrain.org (application). Applications not accompanied by all relevant documentation as required throughout the Application form will be disqualified. Applications submitted by Candidates who are not eligible will be disqualified.  Applications submitted past the Deadline will be disqualified.

No amendments, additions, changes, and updates will be allowed to any Application after the Deadline.

Applications and all accompanying material required throughout the Application must be submitted via www.israelbrain.org no later than 23:59 (Israel time) on March 15^th 2013 (deadline).

The Process. The Competition comprises the following stages:

1    Stage One – Preliminary Application Screening. All submitted Applications will be initially reviewed by the Administrative Committee, and all Applications not compliant with the Eligibility criteria shall be disqualified. All other Applications, meeting the Eligibility criteria, shall be passed on to the Screening Committee.

2    Stage Two – Selection of Finalists. Following the Preliminary Application Screening Stage, the Screening Committee will review all Submitted Achievements reflected in the Applications, and rank the remaining applications based on the Qualification Requirements, and shall select up to 10 Applications that demonstrate the highest degrees of compliance with the Qualification Requirements (the Finalists).

3    Stage Three –Finals (International Brain Technology Conference); Winner Announcement. At the International Brain Technology Conference, to be held in Israel, in the presence of the Judging Committee, distinguished representatives and an audience, the Finalists will present their Submitted Achievements:

• Description of the technological and/or scientific achievement and innovation and its high and positive impact on mankind;
• Future plans towards the fulfillment of the objectives and purpose of the technology as well as further development thereof;
• Commercialization and business plans.

Following the presentations of the Finalists, the Judging Committee shall deliberate, in light of the Judging Criteria, based on the Finalists’ presentations. The Judging Committee shall select one Candidate as the winner to be awarded the B.R.A.I.N. Prize. The winner shall be the Submitted Achievement that in the opinion of the Judging Committee, demonstrates the most compliance with the Judging Criteria. The winner will be announced and awarded the B.R.A.I.N. Prize at the Award Ceremony.

The Committees:

The Administrative Committee. The administrative committee shall be comprised of 4 members, two of which shall be members of IBT, one of which shall be a member of the Screening Committee, and one of which shall be a member of the B.R.A.I.N. Prize Steering Committee. The Administrative Committee shall be responsible for all administrative, logistic, and general issues concerning the Competition and its organization, and shall be the liaison for any inquiry regarding the Competition.

The Screening Committee. The Screening Committee shall be composed of at least 7 and no more than 11 members of the IBT Scientific Advisory Board, consisting of the heads of Israeli university brain research centers and hospital department heads of Neurology and Psychiatry.

The Judging Committee. The judges of the Competition will be called the “Judging Committee” and shall be composed of 7-11 distinguished international and Israeli leaders in science, business, and technology. The identity of the members of the Judging Committee will be published prior to the Finals phase of the Competition. The Judging Committee will evaluate the Finalists according to the Judging Criteria and select the B.R.A.I.N Prize winner. The decision of the Judging Committee, which will be made by a majority of the votes of the Judging Committee, shall be final, binding and cannot be subject to any challenge. In the event of a tie between two or more Finalists, His Excellency the President of the State of Israel, Mr. Shimon Peres shall have an additional vote which shall determine the B.R.A.I.N Prize winner.

Judging Criteria. The Judging Committee will be asked to review, assess, evaluate and rank the screened Submitted Achievements based on  conditions, parameters and criteria in the following areas in order to establish which individual, team or organization has fully achieved such requirements and is entitled to the B.R.A.I.N Prize award:  

1        Originality and innovation;

2        Technology – achievement is well-substantiated by research results, publications, peer review, proof of concept results, working prototype or otherwise;

3        Magnitude of impact on humanity;

4        The existence of a working prototype or a successfully completed feasibility study showing strong indication of Practicality and applicability of the Submitted Achievement

1   The winner of the B.R.A.I.N. Prize will be awarded US$ 1 million (the “Prize Funds“). The Judging Committee, at its own discretion, may declare two winners of the B.R.A.I.N Prize, in which case the Prize Funds shall be split into two equal parts of US$500,000 each and all rules and provisions herein concerning the Prize Funds shall apply mutatis mutandis to each of the winners.

2   The B.R.A.I.N. Prize will be awarded at an Award Ceremony at the International Brain Technology Conference in Israel.

3   The Prize Funds will be transferred to the winner’s bank account according to the details provided in the Application form. The Prize Funds are intended for use for further development toward commercialization of the Submitted Achievement. The winner shall provide a quarterly report detailing the use of the Prize Funds in accordance with the Budget, until all Prize Funds are utilized.

4  In addition Winner shall be invited to present at the 2014 B.R.A.I.N Prize conference, the progress achieved throughout the previous year using the B.R.A.I.N Prize funds

5  The winner will be offered to receive mentoring from IBT in connection with further development toward commercialization of the winning Submitted Achievement. 

6  Any tax liability arising out of the receiving of the prize funds will be borne solely by the winner of the prize award.

7  To the extent permitted by law, submission of an Application and/or acceptance of the B.R.A.I.N Prize constitutes permission to use the candidate’s and/or the winner’s name, title, biography, and achievements and any other information contained in the Application submitted by such candidate for IBT advertising and promotional purposes.

IBT, its affiliates, sponsors, employees, directors, members, advisors and contractors,(for the purpose of sections 12 and 13, all of which shall be referred to as “IBT“) shall assume no responsibility or liability for lost, late, misdirected or incomplete Applications, notifications, responses, replies, or any agreement and release documents or for any computer, online, telephone, hardware, software or technical malfunctions that may occur (including but not limited to malfunctions that may affect the transmission or non-transmission of an entry). IBT is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Web site users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Competition or by any technical or human error which may occur in the processing of applications in the competition. IBT assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, Applications. IBT are not responsible for any problems, failures or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, providers, computer equipment, software, e-mail, players, or browsers, on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, at any website, or on account of any combination of the foregoing. IBT is not responsible for any injury or damage to any Candidate or to any computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in the competition. If, for any reason, the competition is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of IBT which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Competition, the competition organizers reserve the right, at their sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the competition without notice.

Each Candidate hereby releases IBT from any and all liability for any loss, harm, damages, cost or expense arising out of participation in the competition or the acceptance, use or misuse of any  prize funds, including without limitation, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to, loss or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation, or portrayal in a false light, or from any and all claims of third parties arising there from.

IBT reserves the right to modify these rules as and if necessary, and will not do so without approval of the IBT Board of Directors and the B.R.A.I.N. Prize Steering Committee. Modified rules shall be published in the IBT website.

In case of a lacuna in these competition rules, terms and conditions, the unanimous resolution of the Administrative Committee members shall be deemed as a part of these rules and shall be binding upon any and all applicant, judge, participant, winner and any other participating or interested party of the Competition.