LONDON, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The new tour of YOUNG TALENT AWARD - a grant by BE OPEN to support young professionals - presents the international jury, whose task will be to define the winner of a 16,000 Euro prize. The award is a grant to support young designers' day-to-day living expenses throughout a year, helping them develop their work at this critical early stage in their career. Described as an "incubator for young talent", seeking out designers who have only recently completed their studies and are making their first steps in a design career, the award will allow the winner to continue working at their own pace, experiment with both practical and conceptual projects.

The high-profile international jury members are Luisa Collina, Professor of Design and Head of the Master of Science program in Product Service System Design at Milano Politechnico, and President of the Cumulus Association; Annabel Pretty, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Architecture of Unitec Institute of Technology in New Zealand; Umberto Tolino, Professor of Communication Design at Milano Politecnico, and a  founding member of the rnd_lab group; José Allard, an associate Professor and researcher at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and the Dean of the School of Design; and Fred Murrell, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Graphic Design at Rocky Mountain College of Art, a member of the Board of the Denver Art Museum's Design Council.

The jury members have already selected the long-list of 30 names out of the pool of candidates from all over the world. The next stage of their work is to form the short-list, and then define the main winner who will receive a 16,000 Euro prize.

Another YTA winner will be named by BE OPEN Founder Yelena Baturina who will assign a 5 000 Euro prize by applying her vision as one of the world's leading businesswomen. Yelena Baturina says: "Education is an essential part of what we become as people and as citizens.  Choosing the right way to develop one's talent is crucial and, too often, young people are left with no support to develop their potential. BE OPEN's aim is to bridge the gap between education and career and accompany young, talented individuals towards a bright future."

There will also be a web choice winner of a 2 000 Euro prize defined by online voting on BE OPEN Facebook page.

SOURCE BE OPEN Foundation