Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The US Department of State announced the launch of the Global Innovations in Science and Technology, a Technological Idea competition (GIST Tech-I) in 2019.

GIST Tech-I is an annual competition for science and technology entrepreneurs from emerging economies around the world. Innovators participating in the competition submit their ideas and startups online, after which their applications are reviewed by experts and put up for general voting to determine the finalists.

The annual competition of innovative ideas and technologies GIST Tech-I, organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) under the auspices of the US Department of State, has been held since 2011 for inventors from developing countries.

Among them is the project of inventors from Uzbekistan on renewable energy - a free-flow small hydroelectric station. The project proposed by the Uzbek inventors, was held in the semifinals of the international competition. The project manager is German Treshchalov, who heads a team of specialists in various fields.

Applications are accepted in four thematic areas: agriculture, energy, health and information and communication technologies. More than 500 applications from 86 countries of the world were submitted for participation in the final of 2019. The AAAS expert group selected the top 80.

The final of the competition will be 24 candidates who gained maximum support in the Internet voting, which runs from January 30 to March 1.

The prize fund of the competition this year amounted to US$230,000. This year’s final will be held in Bahrain at the World Congress of Entrepreneurs.