The Emerging Technology Competition (eTech) is a new initiative that aims to attract innovative ideas and incentivize the innovative use of emerging technologies by undergraduate and postgraduate students at the University of Birmingham.
The competition is organised by the IT Innovation Centre (ITIC) in IT Services and builds on the success of the Student Mobile App Competition that we ran for the previous 5 years.
The eTech Competition is open to ALL current undergraduate and postgraduate students at the university. You can enter as an individual or as a team. You will be expected to produce a video and a working prototype to demo the innovation value of an emerging technology of your choice and its impact on one of the areas below:
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- Education and Life at Uni
- Health and Well being
- Energy and the Environment
Examples of emerging technologies including mobile app design and development, gesture controlled technologies such as Kinect and Leap Motion, drones, cyber security, 3D printing, artificial intelligence, robots, augmented reality, immersive technologies such as Oculus Rift, and any other emerging technology of your choice.
How to Enter
- Email itinnovation@contacts.bham.ac.uk to register interest.
- By Friday 9 December 2016: submit a short report describing the emerging technology you will be using and the innovation value of your idea in your area of choice. [download the ideas submission from here].
- By Friday 24 Feb 2017: submit a working prototype and a 2-minute video explaining the innovation value of your idea and its impact in your area of choice. Be creative and make it fun!
- March 2017: Judging and Awards Ceremony
Shortlisted entrants will be invited to present their ideas to a panel of expert judges from industry and academia at the competition final. This is a one-day event in March 2017.
Key Dates
| Date | Event |
| 31 Oct 2016 | Competition opens – Register interest |
| 9 December 2016 | Stage 1: Ideas submission form deadline closes |
| 24 February 2017 | Stage 2: Working prototype and video submission deadline closes |
| March 2017 | Judging and Awards Ceremony – Competition Winners Announced |
Application & Judging
Application is a two-stage process.
- Submit a short online form describing the emerging technology that you will be using and the innovation value of your idea.
- Submit a working prototype and a 2-minute video explaining the innovation value of your idea and its impact in your area of choice.
The applications will be judged according to the following criteria:
- The degree of innovation of technology (how this differentiates from existing technologies)
- The potential impact of technology
If your idea gets shortlisted, we will invite you to present it to a panel of expert from industry and academia at the competition final, taking place in March 2017.
Prizes
Prizes will include paid internships with sponsors and/or tailored support and guidance to all winners to further develop their ideas.
Industry Sponsors
- Virgin Money
- Whitbread (Costa, Premier Inn, Beefeater….)
- The competition is also accredited through the Personal Skills Awards (PSA) employability programme of the University of Birmingham, recognised by mayor employers.