Innovation of an Application Character – Dr. h. c. Ing. Štefan Rosina Award
The Polymer Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, in the interest of recognizing extraordinary results and outstanding achievements in research, development, and innovations in areas related to the conference themes, announces the 1st edition of the "Dr. h. c. Ing. Štefan Rosina Award" for individuals or teams in the category "Innovation of an Application Character."
Dr. h. c. Ing. Štefan Rosina was one of the most prominent figures in the rubber industry in Slovakia. Mr. Rosina is the founder of the Matador company in Púchov, now known as Continental Matador, s.r.o. His long-term collaboration with the Polymer Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and support for young talents led to the creation of a unique competition for innovations of an application character.
The competition was initiated based on discussions with members of the Štefan Rosina Foundation, aiming to support and recognize scientists and their innovative ideas. The competition is held in two categories: an award for the best poster presentation (for conference participants of PMA 2025 & SRC 2025 only) and Innovation of an Application Character (for all innovators in Slovakia working in fields related to rubber and plastic materials, technologies, and products).
The award ceremony will take place on 23 May 2025 at Smolenice Castle, marking the conclusion of the 10th International Conference on Polymer Materials in Automotive Industry and the 26th Slovak Rubber Conference, PMA 2025 & SRC 2025, held from 21–23 May 2025. The conference focuses on various aspects related to plastics and rubber in the automotive industry, aiming to present and discuss innovative approaches to new polymer materials, processing technologies, and products that increasingly influence vehicle operation and design.
Competition Criteria
- - Innovativeness and technical level of the submitted proposal
- - Potential economic, commercial, environmental, and social benefits, as well as intellectual property protection
- - Multiple proposals can be submitted, but only one application per subject is allowed
- - The application does not have a prescribed format but must include all attributes described in the first two competition criteria points. The application should not exceed five A4 pages.
- - The deadline for submitting proposals is 28 February 2025.
- - The evaluation of applied innovation proposals will take place from March to the end of April 2025.
Individuals, research groups, and companies operating in Slovakia can participate in the competition.
More information about the competition
Prepared by: Silvia Podhradská, Polymer Institute of SAS