Caithness.org News Bulletins -  October 2002

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The search is on to find teams of young people from across the Highlands and Islands, willing to take part in the Highlands and Islands Youth Challenge, a major technology innovations competition.

PICT Innovation Ltd, a partnership company established to foster good ideas and turn them into business ventures by supporting research and commercialisation, is delivering the programme on behalf of Highlands and Islands Enterprise. They are looking for teams of four to six people under the age of 20, with innovative ideas for information technology projects that have the potential to become commercially viable ventures.

Young folk checking out the possibilities for their Ideas - Get yours entered.

PICT project manager, Bryan Fraser, said the challenge promised to offer fun and excitement as well as rewards. He added: "Traditionally there has been no shortage of innovation in the Highlands and Islands, and young people are no exception to that. The challenge has been organised to encourage and reward innovation among young people in a way that is exciting, fun and educational. The various stages of the competition will encourage the development of a wide variety of skills including communication, presentation and project management."

It is hoped that teams of young people from Shetland to Argyll will take part. They will be offered support and advice from mentors from the business sector and from specialists in key subjects areas, such as public speaking and presentation, project management, website and internet.

Applications, from schools, community groups, youth groups and other interested young people, can be completed online ( www.pict.org.uk/hothouse  or call 08700 636333) and should be submitted no later than 15th November.   The best teams with the most innovative ideas will be selected and invited to present their ideas to a panel of industry experts in December. A number of teams will be asked to develop their ideas with the support of specialist advice and support and submit them by Easter next year.

The finalists will then be invited to take part in the grand final event next summer, which will be a seven-day residential workshop held at the 'Hot House'. This will see the production of prototypes, and competitors will be judged on teamwork, innovation, feasibility, communication and peer opinion.

Prizes will be awarded at each stage of the challenge. The overall winning team will receive an all-expenses trip to Media Lab in Dublin to learn about the "blue-sky" innovation research and development that is taking place throughout Europe.

The challenge is being supported by a host of sponsors including BT Scotland, in conjunction with BT's world-renowned research and technology business, BTexact Technologies. The list of supporters also includes Sony, Media Lab Europe, Business Lab and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

HIE chairman, Dr. Jim Hunter, said: "At the Digital Edge Conference in Inverness last year, director and co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof. Nicholas Negroponte, emphasised the importance of investing in young people and supporting their education and development through innovation. This is precisely what is being done through the Highlands and Islands Youth Challenge, offering an exciting opportunity for young people who have an interest in IT innovation. I am delighted that we are able to provide this opportunity and equally that it has attracted so much support from so many other organisations."

Graham Reid, director of BTexact's engineering practice, added: "We are absolutely delighted to be engaged with the Highlands and Islands Youth Challenge.  There is an enormous potential for innovation within our young population and giving them an outlet for their creativity and energies in a business context is something we very much like to encourage and be  actively involved with."

About BTexact Technologies

BTexact Technologies, BT's advanced research and technology business, offers expertise and experience in communications technology and e-business, backed by a team of more than 3000 technologists and one of the world's largest communications research and development facilities. As the centre of technical expertise for the BT Group, BTexact has established a record of world-first achievement and of successful delivery of projects, large and small. It has also created an intellectual property portfolio of some 14,000 patents based on almost 2000 inventions, some of which are being converted into valuable new businesses by BTexact's Brightstar incubator.

BTexact helps businesses and organisations inside and outside BT Group gain maximum advantage from communications technology. It creates value and competitive advantage by combining a deep knowledge of networks and networked applications with proven skills in business consulting, change management and innovation. Its services are focused to help customers assess the value and performance of communication technologies and systems, identify potential risks and ensure they gain maximum advantage from investments in communications technologies and applications.

BTexact's employees include many who are world leaders in their specialist fields, working at the forefront of standards development and new technologies in areas including multimedia, IP and data networks, mobile communications, network design and management, and business applications.  Services are offered to customers directly or through world-class business  partners, which include BT Group businesses such as BT Retail, BT Wholesale and BT Ignite.  BTexact is headquartered at Adastral Park, at one end of the Cambridge-2-Ipswich Hi Tech Corridor, and is a founder member of the Cambridge Network. It has offices and laboratories worldwide including locations across the UK and in Asia, continental Europe, and North America.   For more information about BTexact Technologies, please go to www.btexact.com.