Terms and Conditions of Participation

The European DIGITAL SME Alliance Student Essay Competition (the “Competition”) is operated and promoted by the European DIGITAL SME Alliance (“DIGITAL SME”), a non-profit Association organised under Belgian law and established at Rue Marie Thérèse 21 bte.5, 1000, Brussels, Belgium, with VAT number BE0899786252, duly represented by Sebastiano Toffaletti, Secretary General.

By entering the Competition, you agree to these terms and conditions.

1. The Competition

a. DIGITAL SME may launch one or more calls for essays per year. Each call will be announced on the DIGITAL SME website and relevant communication channels.

b. The topic of each call will be related to the ICT sector and linked to the DIGITAL SME priorities and area of work.

c. Essays must be written in English and must not exceed 1,500 words, excluding the title and bibliography. As a supporting document for a successful submission, applicants are required to submit their CV.

d. Essays must be the original work of the participant, must not have been previously published or awarded in another competition, and must not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party. Where AI or other digital tools are used in the preparation of the essay, participants must comply with the requirements set out in Section 6(c).

2. The prize

a. One or more winners may be selected, based on the sole decision of the judging panel. The judging panel also reserves the right not to award any prize if no submission is considered to meet the required standard. b. Upon evaluation by a jury, the winner may be offered the possibility of a an up-to 6-months remunerated traineeship at the European DIGITAL SME Alliance offices in Brussels. The offer of a traineeship is subject to an interview with the winner and to the organisational needs of DIGITAL SME at the time of reward.

c. The scope and content of the traineeship will be defined by DIGITAL SME and tailored, as far as possible, to the skills, background, and profile of the winner, and are not necessarily linked to the essay topic.

d.The cost of travel as well as living expenses during the traineeship at DIGITAL SME are the sole responsibility of the trainee. In accordance with Belgian legislation on the Convention d’immersion professionnelle, the monthly allowance granted to the selected winner is set at €1,077.06 and may be adjusted in line with applicable indexation rules.

e. Moreover, the winning essay will be promoted on the DIGITAL SME website, social media channels and during flagship events, such as the DIGITAL SME Summit. DIGITAL SME may reimburse travel expenses incurred within the European Union for the winner to attend such events and reserves the right to invite other finalists.

f. Any additional details relating to the prize will be specified in each individual call for essays.

3. How to enter

a. Entries must be submitted using the online form available at the following link. Note: other file attachments are not allowed and will not be opened.

b. All entries must be submitted by the deadline specified in the call. Entries received after the closing date will not be considered eligible. A confirmation message will be sent upon successful submission.

4. Eligibility

a. Eligible applicants are students enrolled in the final year of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (or equivalent) relevant to DIGITAL SME’s work, as well as individuals who have graduated from such programmes no more than two years ago. These programmes must be offered by Higher Education Institutions established in the European Union. Applicants must also have no more than two years of relevant professional experience following the completion of their most recent degree.

b. The applicants must be legally entitled to work in Belgium for the entire duration of the traineeship.

c. By entering the Competition, you confirm that you are eligible to do so and to claim any prize you may win. DIGITAL SME may require you to provide proof of your eligibility.

d. Only one entry per person is permitted.

e. Entries not submitted in accordance with these terms or entries that are incomplete or illegible will not be considered.

5. Prize and judging

a. A judging panel will be established. The panellists will be selected among entrepreneurs and experts from relevant academic fields and may also include members of DIGITAL SME’s internal advisory bodies where appropriate. The decision of the judging panel is final and made at its sole discretion. As part of the final evaluation process, shortlisted participants, including the winner, may be invited to an interview, notably to assess their suitability for a potential traineeship within DIGITAL SME.

b. The winner will be notified by email between 30 and 15 days before the summit date. c. If any winner cannot be contacted, is not available or has not claimed the prize within 10 days of the notification date, DIGITAL SME reserves the right to offer the prize to the next eligible entrant.

d. We may ask the winner to provide documentary proof of identity, address and eligibility criteria before awarding the prize. The use of false or misleading information will result in disqualification.

e. DIGITAL SME reserves the right to disqualify any participant who breaches these Terms and Conditions, engages in plagiarism, attempts to influence the judging process, submits fraudulent information or otherwise acts contrary to the spirit of the Competition.

6. Use of your information

a. Personal data provided by participants will be processed in accordance with applicable data protection law and DIGITAL SME’s privacy policy, solely for purposes related to the Competition and associated communication activities.

b. All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party.

c. If AI or other digital tools are used to support the development of the content, the author must clearly acknowledge this and briefly explain how the technology was used (e.g., to correct grammar, to summarise theoretical sources, or to refine structure). The use of AI tools to generate substantial portions of the essay is prohibited, and DIGITAL SME reserves the right to disqualify entries where such use undermines originality or authorship.

d. DIGITAL SME accepts no responsibility for entries that fail to comply with these Terms and Conditions.

e. Participants retain copyright in their submissions but grant DIGITAL SME a perpetual, non -exclusive, royalty-free licence to publish and disseminate, display, communicate, translate and include the essays, in whole or in part, in DIGITAL SME publications, reports, policy papers, event materials and communication channels together with the author’s name and country of residence.

7. Contact

For questions related to the Competition, please contact the Competition coordinators:

Lina Nardone (l.nardone@digitalsme.eu), Maria Ariosto (m.ariosto@digitalsme.eu).