The Rolex Awards for Enterprise were created to foster a spirit of enterprise and advance human knowledge and well-being. They support pioneering work in five areas:
- • science and health
- • applied technology
- • exploration and discovery
- • the environment
- • cultural heritage
Winners are innovators who typically work outside the mainstream and often have limited access to traditional funding. Rather than reward past achievements, the Rolex Awards provide financial assistance and recognition
to individuals embarking on new ventures or carrying out ongoing projects. Grants of 100,000 Swiss francs are awarded to Laureates and 50,000 Swiss francs to Young Laureates. All winners also receive a Rolex chronometer.
The grants must be used to complete projects. A cycle of awards devoted to Young Laureates was introduced in 2009 to encourage the next generation of leaders.
Eligibility Criteria
- All candidates must be between 18 and 30 years old by December 31, 2014.
- Pre-applications for the 2014 Rolex Awards for Enterprise may be submitted by individuals only. No institutional or collective pre- applications are allowed. If a project represents the efforts of several individuals, one person must represent the group and sign the pre- application form. Should such a group effort be chosen, the Rolex Award will be presented to the individual representative. Rolex SA will have no obligation to any other members of the group.
- No pre-applications on behalf of another person will be accepted. Pre-applicants must submit their own ideas and proposals.
- Pre-applications cannot be submitted by Rolex employees; Rolex agents and retailers and their employees; employees of advertising, public relations and any other agencies acting for Rolex; members of the immediate families of any of the above; any other person closely connected with Rolex SA. Former Rolex Awards and Young Laureates Programme Jury Members, Laureates, Associate Laureates and Young Laureates are also excluded.
- The Rolex Awards for Enterprise invites pre-applications for projects in the following areas: science and health; applied technology; exploration and discovery; the environment; and cultural heritage. Innovative ideas outside these areas will also be considered.
- Projects must improve the quality of life on the planet, expand knowledge of our world or contribute to the betterment of humankind.
- Projects must be envisaged for the future or completed only in part. Completed work, or projects that will be finished when the awards are announced late in 2014, cannot be considered.
Selection Process
Winners are chosen by a Jury of international experts who themselves embody the spirit of enterprise that the Awards seek to promote. The Jury is international, interdisciplinary and independent. A new panel is convened for each series of Awards, which are presented every two years.
Rolex receives as many as 3,000 applications from more than 150 countries for each series. The Awards are open to individuals of any nationality or background. The applications are analysed by a team of scientific researchers before being presented to the Jury.
Projects are judged on their feasibility, originality, potential for sustained impact and, above all, on the candidates’ spirit of enterprise. Applicants must show how they will use a Rolex Award to leverage the impact of their projects, and how, through initiative and ingenuity, they will benefit mankind.
For more information visit the official website
