Submissions for the coveted award are now open to all companies and institutions which are exhibiting at the upcoming HANNOVER MESSE or in some other way contributing to its content. They will be judged against a number of criteria – chiefly the product or solution’s degree of technological innovation, its benefit for industry, the environment and society, and its degree of readiness for implementation. The closing date for submissions is 6 February 2019.

Once submissions are closed, an independent jury headed by Professor Reimund Neugebauer will meet to assess them and determine the winner. "The HERMES AWARD is something of an institution in Germany’s research and development sector, and so it is a great honor for me to chair its jury," Professor Neugebauer said. "We would like to work with German and international technology experts to further develop this important award. As part of our ongoing search for pioneering innovations, we would like to take a broader perspective and further sharpen the focus on target group-specific solutions."

In 2019, the jury will shortlist only three nominees for the award (instead of five). The winner will then be chosen from among those three. All HERMES AWARD nominees will be recognized at the HANNOVER MESSE 2019 Opening Ceremony on 31 March, and their innovations will be on display throughout the show, from 1 to 5 April, at the Research & Technology showcase in Hall 2.

Professor Neugebauer takes over the chair of the HERMES AWARD jury from Professor Wolfgang Wahlster, Technical Director and CEO of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), who has been instrumental in developing the award format over the past 15 years. "Having headed the jury for 15 years, it is good to know the award will be in excellent hands with the Fraunhofer Society. I trust that the new jury will maintain the same unerring sense for excellence in innovation and that the HERMES AWARD will continue to command the international status it so richly deserves as the ‘Oscars for engineers’," Professor Wahlster said.

"The highly respected and coveted HERMES AWARD symbolizes Germany’s competitiveness and innovative power, and puts the spotlight on innovations as they transition from new ideas to market-ready products," commented Germany’s Federal Minister for Education and Research, Anja Karliczek. "I am delighted that Reimund Neugebauer is taking over as chair of the HERMES AWARD jury. As the President of the Fraunhofer Society, he has an experienced eye for applications-focused research and knowledge transfer. At the same time, I would like to thank Wolfgang Wahlster for his work as chair of the jury over the last 15 years. He has played a key role in making the award the sought-after accolade that it is today," she said.

The HERMES AWARD is offered under the patronage of the Federal Minister for Education and Research, Anja Karliczek, and the Premier of Germany’s Lower Saxony state, Stephan Weil.