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ICT Youth Challenge Ends SPECtacularly!

10/07/2007

"After working for all this time it is extremely rewarding to have our ideas acknowledged in this way."

The final pitch of Specs' product idea wowed judges from industry and commerce, including Paul McEldon from the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC).

Paul McEldon said: "All of the teams' pitches were excellent. I think I can speak for all of the judges when I say that, after watching their ideas develop over the year, to see them perform so well at the end of this journey made us all very proud.

"However, the format of the competition meant that there had to be one overall winner, and Specs' new and revolutionary answer to the planet's energy crisis is outstanding."

Friday's (6th July) prize giving ceremony came at the end of a week-long residential at Otterburn Hall, Northumbria, which marked the final stage of the competition. The six attending teams engaged in activities ranging from archery, canoeing and quizzes while developing the final presentation of their ideas with the assistance of a variety of business experts including Jonathan Gold from NStar, Colin Hewitt from Ward Hadaway Associates and Simon Roberson from BT.

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The Big Ideas ICT Youth Challenge opened in September 2006 and received over 70 initial entries from school and college students across North East England." Teams then battled through two tough rounds, delivering presentations to a panel of the North East's top business brains to demonstrate their unique ideas for an Information & Communications Technology (ICT) solution.

Andrew Jobling (14), Specs team member, said: "We just can't believe it. After working for all this time it is extremely rewarding to have our ideas acknowledged in this way. However, one thing we've learned in the competition is that this is not the end, we need to push things to the next level to see our ideas really become a reality. It's been a tough, enjoyable week, so we may take a few days off to recuperate, but after that we intend to go for it!"

As the overall winners, Specs' team members were presented with brand new laptop computers. The team who came in second place with their idea for an interactive airbag, League Against Lino from City of Sunderland College, were presented with cutting edge digital cameras, whilst other pupils who had reached the final were each presented with brand new MP3 players. All of the teams were also given a year's virtual tenancy at the Business and Innovation Centre, worth over £1,000.

Katherine Mathieson, Future Innovators Programme Leader at NESTA (The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), commented on the competition: "We have been extremely impressed with the scheme and how it has progressed. The skills and confidence that the young entrepreneurs have developed during the Challenge will, along with their new business contacts and the BIC's virtual office space, provide an ideal base for Specs and the other teams to take their ideas to the next level - and closer to becoming a commercial reality."

For further enquiries, please contact Chris Hair, North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC), on 0191 516 6121 or at chris.hair@ne-bic.co.uk.

A special prize from BT was also presented to I-Change, who won a trip to their Research Centre in Ipswich, after their pitch was deemed exceptional by judge Sandra Stinic, who is a researcher for the company.
Awarded for its futuristic potential, the team will be given the opportunity to develop their idea further when they visit the award winning centre.
Both overall winners Specs and BT prize winners I-Change are both from St. Aidan's School, Sunderland
The ICT Youth Challenge was coordinated by the Big Ideas team who are based at the North East BIC. As well as continuing to support this year's entrants, they are now busy making preparations for next year's competition.

NESTA
NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. With endowed funds of over £300 million, our mission is to transform the UK's capacity for innovation. We do this in three main ways: by working to build a more pervasive culture of innovation in this country; by providing innovators with access to early stage capital; and by driving forward research into innovation, with a view to influencing policy.

NESTA Future Innovators
NESTA'S Future Innovators Programme aims to develop the skills and attitudes needed by young people for the future economy. We do this by supporting the professionals and institutions that work with young people, to test new approaches and disseminate ideas and resources about 'education for innovation'.