GUIDELINES

We are looking for ideas(*) or early stage startups dedicated to solving problems experienced in Venice as well as other coastal and historical cities. Every MDXV edition will have specific themes. In 2024, the themes are: 

• Art and Architecture: sustainability, maintenance, and preservation

• Tourism of the future: fair accommodations and sustainable mobility 

• Water, Energy and Environment 

• Smart tools for cities and citizens

(*) At MITdesignX Venice, Intellectual Property (IP) is considered the property of the individuals and/or teams. MIT and SerenDPT will not stake IP or patent claims to new ideas developed at MITdesignX Venice. 

MITdesignX Venice seeks diverse, interdisciplinary teams working on challenging ideas to design high-impact solutions and launch a real venture based in Venice. 

Ideal candidates are ideas with a connection to Venice, or to the problems the city experiences.

Ideas can be submitted by anyone, regardless of age and origin or background (whether students, professionals, or community members).

MITdesignX Venice is suitable for newborn teams or incorporated startups that are in the pre-seed or seed phase (*) or in the pivoting phase (unless technological pivoting).

(*) click here to find out more about the startup phases & pivoting.

Teams should be composed of at least 3 people and not more than 5.
Anyone can be a member of a team, regardless of age and origin or background (whether students, professionals, or community members). 

An individual cannot apply as a single proponent and cannot apply as a member of more than one team.

Participants are required to speak a good level of English. The entire program (workshops and final pitch) will be held in English.

MITdesignx Venice is a unique course offered by MIT Professional Education in English.

Participants who complete the program by satisfying the rules of attendance will access prizing the benefits and will be issued a certificate of participation signed by the executive director of MITdesignX and will be authorized to use the MITdesignX Venice logo for information purposes about the existence of an association relationship between the graduating startup and the program.

€10.000 final prizes will be awarded by Fondazione di Venezia to the top 3 startups based on the final pitch (*).
1st Place = € 5.000
2nd Place = € 3.000
3rd Place = € 2.000

SerenDPT will offer incentives to graduating startups after the end of the program such as:

• Free hospitality and mentoring for 6 months in the H3 Factory incubator for one startup who commits to locate to the Venice HC (= ~ €3.000).

• Up to 4.000 hours of free research support from SerenDPT's partnerships with student teams from WPI.
  
  
  

(*)  The prize is awarded to the venture, not to individual team members. Prizes cannot be split. Only the startup and team members that participate in the Final Pitch will be eligible for the prizes (check the rules of attendance to access prizing).

MITdesignX Venice is a in-person course on site, at H3 Factory, in Venice, Italy.
SerenDPT provides a workspace for the selected teams during the on-site workshops.

In-person attendance (at all fall workshops) by at least 50% of the team (*) is mandatory to access prizing and benefits. 

All the expenses for attending the program in person are borne by the participants.

(*) at least 2 attending applicants for each team

Applications can be submitted online (in English) during the submission period. Applications are open from May 1st to July 31, 2024.

We encourage individuals and teams to attend preparatory events that are programmed before the submission deadline. 

• Teams can submit an application without attending any preliminary event. 

• Participation in the preliminary events helps teams to shape their idea and make a better submission

Up to 10 ideas will be selected to participate in the Fall program.

Applications go through a selection process that reviews ideas based on:

• human and social impact 

• feasibility

• uniqueness

• market fit and scalability

• team composition, diversity and skillset

Up to 10 teams are selected.