The “Factory Innovation Award” recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of factory software and intelligent solutions for the future. The competition reflects one of the most important smart factory software awards in Europe.
The credibility of the Factory Innovation Award roots in its independence: An independent jury which consists of representatives from consulting firms, journalists and scientists decides which solutions and systems will receive the award. By focusing on content-related criteria, the award gives both small and bigger institutions an equal chance to convince the jury of their offering.
By focusing on content-related criteria, small and large players alike have the chance to convince the jury of their offer.
The Factory Innovation Award is organized by the Center for Industry 4.0 at the University of Potsdam, in cooperation with Berlin-based GITO publishing house. Since 1995, GITO publishing house has been committed to providing the market-wide best technical information on Industry 4.0 and the smart factory.
• Suppliers: Software providers
• Users: Companies that have successfully implemented smart factory solutions
• Research institutions: Cutting-edge factory software solutions
• Training institutions : Innovative training offers and methods as well as Learning Factory
The submitted applications are evaluated by the jury according to various criteria, depending on the role (provider, user, research institution, training institution), for example:
• Unique selling points
• Customer benefits
• Architecture and standards
• Implementation approach
Participants have until January 17, 2025 to submit their documents and will be informed shortly after whether they are among the finalists. The digital pitch of the finalists will take place at the beginning of March and can be followed by the audience via a livestream. The audience will vote a preferred candidate for the audience award category.
On April 2, 2025, the winners of the respective categories as well as the winner of the audience award will be announced at the Hannover Messe. The award ceremony will take place with simultaneous translation (DE/EN) on the Digital Transformation Stage (Hall 17) at 4:30 pm.
Participants can obtain an evaluation of their application documents after the competition. Please contact us for this.
The winners of the respective categories as well as the winner of the audience award will be announced and honored at the Hannover Messe on April 2, 2024. The award ceremony will take place with simultaneous translation (DE/EN) on the Digital Transformation Stage (Hall 17) at 4:30 pm. We will have a photographer on-site for the award ceremony and are happy for you to use the photos for public relations purposes.
There will be winners and prize winners in all competition categories, plus the audience award winner, which is chosen by the audience in the digital pitch. The participants in the final may call themselves finalists. We will not name one singular overall winner for the FIA.
The deadline for submitting all application documents is January 17, 2025.
You can submit an application for as many categories as you like. Should you achieve “finalist” status in more than one category, you will need to choose one category for the digital pitch.
Generally, the same application documents can be used for multiple categories. It is not necessary to go through additional efforts and hand in different application documents when registering for multiple categories. However, depending on the category, adjustments should be made.
After registering,you will receive a detailed participant briefing and the template for your application. If you have not yet received the participant briefing and template, please request them by emailing .
You can register here and send your application documents to .
You may submit your application and supporting documentation in English. You can register here and send the your application documents to .
Yes, we welcome applications from other countries. Please note that your application documents can be submitted either in English or German. The award ceremony on the main stage of the Hannover Messe will be held with simultaneous translation (DE/EN).
The digital pitch consists of two parts:
1) Presenting the solution – 5 minutes
Similar to an elevator pitch, three questions must be presented to the jury and the audience in an understandable and clear way: What problem is being solved? What is the USP? What is the specific benefit?
For users, only two questions are to be discussed: What problem was solved? What is the specific benefit?
The time frame is a maximum of five minutes. It is crucial to stick to this time frame to avoid losing points. The presentation can also be recorded in advance.
2) Questions from the jury – 10 minutes
After the presentation, the providers will answer the jury's questions.
The content of the application documents and the digital pitch each account for 50% of the total number of points.
You can either present live in an online format, using charts or present a pre-recorded video. Whichever way you choose, please remember to stick to the 15-minutes time frame in order to prevent losing points.
Your exact presentation date, including the time slot, will be announced well in advance. The digital pitch is expected to be in the first or second week of March. The winners will be announced and honored at a festive awards ceremony at the Hannover Messe on April 2, 2024 at 4:30 p.m.
The digital pitch is the final application step in the selection process. Therefore, participation is mandatory to win a prize in the Factory Innovation Award. Those who do not participate will be disqualified from the competition.
All participants have the chance to obtain an evaluation of their own application documents after the competition. This includes a multi-page feedback, jury assessments and feedback on the further development of success factors and on how to increase market success. Contact us if you are interested.
Winners and prize-winners can use the seals in the relevant category without any restrictions. Only official GITO seals may be used, stating the year and the respective category. The seal may not be changed and may be used in print and online. The creation and use of your own seals or the modification of the GITO seals is not permitted under Section 16 (1) of the German Act against Unfair Competition (UWG). Interested in a seal? Get in touch!