General Principles

The Millennium Technology Prize is awarded for a specific groundbreaking innovation in the field of technology.

The winning innovation must be shown to promote people's quality of life and sustainable development both now and in the future. The Prize is not intended for cumulative accomplishments over a lifetime career. Citizens of all nations are eligible.

Significant factors in the evaluation process include the number of people affected by the innovation and the extent of the changes they may experience as a consequence. Technologies that have not yet been applied in practice are not eligible for the award.

The Prize is also intended to stimulate further cutting-edge research and development in science and technology. Due consideration is also therefore given to each nominee's current activities. Ideally, nominees continue to be engaged in work that further promotes their innovation and its practical applications.

At the one million euro level, the Millennium Technology Prize ranks as one of the world's most prestigious awards.

The Millennium Technology Prize is under the patronage of the President of Finland.

Selection process

The Finalists and the Prize Winner are selected by the Board of the Technology Academy Finland on the basis of recommendations by the International Selection Committee, a distinguished group of experts. The Board's decisions are final and without appeal.

The nomination period begins on 1st March 2009 and ends on 1st October 2009.

Nominations received by the Technology Academy Finland are first reviewed by a pre-selection group consisting of a network of leading Finnish and international scientists and technologists who cooperate with the International Selection Committee. On the basis of this work, the International Selection Committee prepares a list of Finalists for the Board's approval.

The list of Finalists, all of whom must accept their appearance on the list, will be announced in early spring 2010. In this context all the Finalists, their research and their innovations will be presented to the international media and the general public in their domestic countries. The International Selection Committee then convenes in Helsinki to prepare its recommendation for the Prize Winner to the Board.

The winner of the 2010 Millennium Technology Prize will be announced during Millennium Technology Week in Helsinki in June 2010. Awards for the Prize Winner and all the Finalists will be presented at a festive award ceremony by the President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen.

Nominees

The Prize can be awarded to a research and development team or to a single individual. It can also be shared between two or three individuals who are shown to have made a critical contribution of essentially equal merit to the success of the innovation.

In cases where the International Selection Committee judges that the merit for an innovation should be ascribed differently from that proposed in the nomination documents, the committee may reduce or extend the number of individuals being considered.

Nominators

Any science and engineering academy, university, research institute, industrial enterprise or association may submit a nomination for the Millennium Technology Prize. If the nominating organisation considers more than one innovation to be worthy of the Millennium Technology Prize, more than one nomination may be submitted.

Self-nominations are not accepted.

Nomination Documents

All nomination material must be presented in English and sent to the Technology Academy Finland, preferably by email. A nomination consists of the following documents:

1. Nomination Form (one page)

The nomination form can be found at www.millenniumprize.fi. Please complete a separate Nomination Form for each candidate.

2. Nomination Letter (1-5 pages)

The Nomination Letter and any possible appendices should cover the following topics:

a) Specific details of the cited innovation and the underlying technology change
b) The present and future impact of the innovation on quality of life and sustainable development
c) Identification of each nominee and their role in the innovation process
d) Details of each nominee's current activities
e) Copies of possible media coverage concerning the nominee and the innovation.

3. Two Supporting Letters (1-3 pages each)

Letters supporting the nomination written by two distinguished individuals from separate organisations are required. These letters must refer explicitly to both the nominee and the innovation presented in the Nomination Letter. Additional supporting letters may be submitted if they are considered necessary to describe particular features of the nominee and the innovation. Authors may email their Supporting Letters directly to the Technology Academy Finland.

4. Nominee's Curriculum Vitae (1-3 pages)

This CV should be a concise list that includes the nominee's education, positions held, industrial and academic affiliations, a list of key patents and publications, honours granted and awards received. 
A separate CV is required for each nominee.

Period of Eligibility

All qualifying nominations are valid for one selection round.

Submission

All nomination material must be presented in English and emailed to nomination2010(at)millenniumprize.fi by 1st October 2009. Please combine the nomination material you are transmitting into a single email message whenever possible.

Nominations that cannot be sent by email should be sent to the following address: Technology Academy Finland, Pohjoisesplanadi 33A, 00100 Helsinki, Finland.

For specific guidelines and enquiries on submitting a nomination, please contact Dr.Tech. Ainomaija Haarla, President and CEO of the Technology Academy Finland: ainomaija.haarla(at)technologyacademy.fi, ainomaija.haarla(at)milleniumprize.fi.

Information in the nomination documents that concerns selected Finalists may be used to prepare publicity material describing the Finalists and their innovations.