Emerging Technology Competition 2017-2018

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The Emerging Technology Competition (ETech) is an annual event organised by the IT Innovation Centre to promote innovative uses of emerging technology. The ETech Competition is free to enter and open to ALL current undergraduate and postgraduate students at the university, technical or non-technical. You can enter as an individual or as a team. To enter you need to come up with an innovative idea to use an emerging technology of your choice. You will need to submit a design or a working prototype to show how the technology will work. This year we propose some areas of interest to focus your ideas on, although you can also choose something else
  • Teaching and Learning
  • Life at the University
  • Health and Wellbeing
  • Energy and Environment

Examples of emerging technologies include: drones, cybersecurity, 3D printing, virtual reality, augmented reality, robot,  blockchain, gesture controlled technologies, mobile applications and any other emerging technology of your choice.

The competition is accredited through the Personal Skills Awards (PSA) employability programme of the University of Birmingham, recognised by many employers.

How to Enter

  • Stage 1 Ideation: Submit your idea through the Idea Submission Form by Friday 8th Dec 2017. IT Innovation Centre will organize the Ideation Workshop in November 2017 , which aims at inspiring idea generation and encouraging collaboration between the participants. The participation of the workshop is voluntary.
  • Stage 2 Development: Submit a working prototype/design and a 2-minute video explaining the innovation value and the impact of your idea by Friday 2nd March 2018. Two drop-in sessions will be organized by the IT Innovation Centre to help participants to further develop their idea.
  • Stage 3 Judging and Awards Ceremony:  week commencing 12th March 2018. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to present their prototypes/designs to a panel of expert judges at the competition final. This is a one-day event in March 2018.

Key Dates and Events

  • Wednesday 25th Oct 2017 – Competition opens
  • Wednesday 22nd Nov 2017 – Ideation Workshop, venue to be confirmed
  • Friday 8th Dec 2017 – Stage 1 Ideation closes, the deadline to submit the online form 
  • Wednesday 31st Jan 2018 – Drop-in session, venue to be confirmed
  • Wednesday 7th Feb 2018 – Drop-in Session, venue to be confirmed
  • Friday 2nd March 2018 – Stage 2 Development closes, the deadline to submit the prototype/design and the video
  • Week commencing 12th March 2018 – Judging and awards ceremony

Application & Judging

The application is a two-stage process.

1. Fill in the idea submission form describing the innovation value of your idea and the emerging technology that you will be using.

Idea Submission Form

2. Submit a working prototype/design and a 2-minute video explaining the innovation value and the impact of your idea.

The applications will be judged according to the following criteria:

  • The degree of innovation of  the idea
  • The potential impact of the technology

If your idea gets shortlisted, we will invite you to present it to a panel of experts from industry and academia at the competition final, taking place in March 2018.

Prizes

Prizes will include paid internships and/or tailored support and guidance to all winners to further develop their ideas.

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