SMEs and Micro-SMEs represent 99% of the business fabric in Europe and are responsible for employing over 85 million people. However, implementing Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) measures in these companies is a significant challenge.

Although Article 19 of the Ley de Prevención de Riesgos Laborales requires every company to guarantee preventive training, many SMEs—with few employees and limited financial resources—struggle to invest in workplace safety systems and to provide adequate training for their workers.

SMEs and Micro-SMEs account for approximately one-third of all workplace accidents in Europe, reflecting the direct consequences of the limitations these companies face in the area of occupational health and safety.

This high rate of workplace incidents directly affects not only the lives of workers and their families, but also the economy, resulting in additional costs for healthcare, sick leave, and loss of productivity.

Students from universities in the Comunidad de Madrid, who are of legal age and have submitted a practical project during the academic years 2022–2023, 2023–2024, or 2024–2025. The project must be part of a study program delivered at one of the universities in the Comunidad de Madrid. The award is open to both Spanish and foreign nationals.

Applications will be assessed from two perspectives. The prize will be awarded to the proposal with the highest overall evaluation.

(60%) Technical assessment of the digital transformation project, carried out by the research team from UC3M:

• Innovation in the field of digital transformation
• Quality of the software development proposal
• Project management quality
• Quality of the analysis performed

(40%) Assessment of the creative idea in occupational health and safety, conducted by the IRSST team:

• Relevance to the theme of the call
• Originality in the field of occupational risk prevention

A first prize of 1000€ and a second prize of 800€ will be awarded to the best creative ideas based on technology and software, supporting the digital transformation of occupational health and safety in SMEs. This includes improving access to existing information on prevention and enhancing occupational risk prevention training for SMEs and Micro-SMEs.

Phase 1:
Deadline for submitting applications: January 13, 2025

Phase 2:
Deadline for submitting applications: March 21, 2025

Submission and Notification:
The list of accepted and rejected applications will be published on:

• January 14, 2025 (Phase 1)
• March 28, 2025 (Phase 2)
  The winners will be notified on: April 22, 2025

Award Ceremony:
The awards will be presented on May 22, 2025, during the 5th Workshop on Creativity for Digital Transformation in Occupational Health and Safety.