The city, which is also a European Entrepreneurial Region 2016, was amongst the final nine competing for the Horizon 2020 ‘iCapital’ 2016 title after being selected by a high-level jury of independent experts from 36 applications.

Glasgow, along with each of the other finalists (Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Eindhoven, Milan, Oxford, Turin, and Vienna), was presented with a plaque containing a wafer of graphene personally designed and signed by University of Manchester Nobel Lauraete Sir Kostya Novoselow. He was the first to isolate the revolutionary one atom thick material from graphite in 2004 with his colleague, Sir Andre Geim. Manchester currently holds the title of European City of Science 2016.

The announcement of the iCapital winners was made at a ceremony in Brussels on Friday 8th April 2016 by Markku Markkula, President of the Committee of the Regions, and Carlos Moedas, Member of the EC in charge of Research, Science and Innovation.

Amsterdam was chosen by the judges to receive the € 950 000 first prize in recognition of its approach to innovation related to four basic areas of urban life: governance, economics, social inclusion and quality of life. Turin and Paris were selected as runners-up, winning second and third prizes of € 100 000 and € 50 000 respectively.

Carlos Moedas said: “Amsterdam fully deserves to be our European Capital of Innovation for its holistic vision of innovation in and for the city. But the competition was very tough and the outstanding achievements of the all nine shortlisted cities are an inspiration to others. They are shining examples of how cities can put innovation to work to improve the way people live and businesses work.”

Markku Markkula said: “This Award is all about speeding up change: we must encourage cities and regions to tackle burning societal challenges by jumping on the innovation train and spreading bottom-up experiences. I am proud to see that 12 European Committee of the Regions’ members represent these nine finalists. We need pioneering cities and regions like the winner, Amsterdam, to lead the way.”

It’s the second time the biennial iCapital award has taken place having previously been won by Barcelona in 2014.

You can view each video presentations of each of the nine finalists in 2016 below:

Links

The European Capital of Innovation Award – iCapital

Glasgow City Council

European City of Science 2016