Student IT Innovation Awards

It is fair to say that in today’s world technology makes the world go round, and on a daily basis new technology surfaces to streamline a process or replace a human mind. The way of the future is in the hands of technology, but it takes young entrepreneurial minds to truly help the world to take that step into the future.

This is why IT Jobs for Graduates have created the Student IT Innovation Awards.

The Student IT Innovation Awards are looking for someone with an entrepreneurial spirit to come up with the next ‘techie’ idea that could change the world.

IT Jobs for Graduates is offering the chance to win a years worth of tuition fees.  This competition is open to students in all years of study attending any university in the UK.

Setting yourself apart from the competition is key for graduates looking to enter the workforce, particularly given the current economic climate. This is why differentiating yourself and building your personal profile should be increasingly important to you now more then ever.

As a winner of the Student IT Innovation Awards we are keen to help you build your personal profile. As well as offering a years worth of tuition fees to the lucky winner, you will also get a chance to have your 5 minutes of fame and be interviewed by our press office. We will then issue a press release across the web giving readers a chance to learn more about your ‘innovative idea’.

Potential funding for college.

Mission: Write a business proposal for an innovative technological concept that has application in a business environment or could be a platform for a new business.

Below we have provided you some with potential themes as a guideline, but as long as your innovation is ‘techie’ and relates to business your proposal will be accepted.  

Process efficiency – Process efficiency is a focus on finding improvements with the way work is currently done. This could mean finding a more ‘efficient’ way to do a job thus improving accuracy and saving time. In a business environment technologies like these can significantly save costs, therefore organisations are always looking for ways to improve ‘process efficiency’.

Are there any processes you think could be done better? If so, this could be your gateway to the big prize.

Educational – Educational technology is most simply defined as an array of tools that might prove helpful in advancing student learning. These days the process of learning can be aided by a variety of different technologies that can bring the information to you in seconds – the internet saves thousands of people hours of time by providing access to instant information.

Do you see opportunity to advance learning through technology? Don’t miss your opportunity to share this with the world.

Software – These days most businesses and consumers use both online or offline software applications, and with the changing face of the web there is an increasing trend for consumers to be able to access an array of free software online. If you think you can create software that has application within a business, or is a platform for a new business, like Facebook, then share this with us today!

Green – Being more ‘green’ and environmentally friendly is a big issue in today’s technology world. With businesses relying heavily on technology creating energy efficient solutions are the way forward in the world of green. So if you have plans on how to preserve the world as it is today then share them with us now!

Once you have decided want you want to submit an entry for, the next step is to put together a business proposal for us detailing the ‘innovative idea’ and how it will work.

The business proposal should be no longer than 4 pages long but the idea should be displayed in a succinct manner. Remember it’s about the quality of the proposal, so make sure you really put some thought into your ideas before sending them through.

All proposals should contain the following elements:

Background – In this section you should articulate the opportunity, how you came to your ideas, how you developed your ideas, and a summary of the concept.

Problem/ Needs statement – In this section you should define the problem and identify a proposed solution. Describe why your solution is appropriate and provide evidence where applicable.

Objective – In this section you should detail your targets and desired outcomes for the concept.

Functional Design – In this section you should define how your concept will operate functionally. This should include analysis on the pros and cons of how it would assist businesses. This is a section where we can see how your ideas have developed and how clearly they have been thought through. 

Technical Design – In this section you should provide a brief overview of the technology you would employ and how it would be used to fulfill your objective.

Key Considerations – In this section you should briefly consider the cost, production and resource implications of the project

Conclusion – The report should conclude with why you think your idea should be selected for the Student IT Innovation Award and what will make it stand out from any other entry.

6 Pillars of Innovation

All entries will be scored out of 10 for each of the 6 pillars of innovation listed below.

Creativity/ Inventiveness - Demonstrating the ability to generate original ideas

Business Reality – Demonstrate how the concept can be applied to a business environment to solve a business problem or how the concept could create a new business opportunity.

Critical Thinking – Demonstrate the ability to review the problem from various angles and identify the most suitable solutions

Feasibility – Demonstrate that the concept is feasible to implement considering resources and costs

Technical Applications - Demonstrate how the technical and functional elements of the project have been thought through. You will also be assessed on the suitability of the technology chosen to achieve objectives 

Business proposal – Demonstrate the ability to write a succinct relevant business plan

Once you have finalised your proposal send it through with a short covering letter detailing why we should select you as a finalist for The Student IT Innovation Awards. In addition to this send a copy of your most recent CV as the Student IT Innovation Awards will act as a great stepping stone to secure a job in the future.

The students awarded with the highest points in the business proposal screening stage will be invited to present their ideas to our panel of judges. The Judging will take place at the J.P. Morgan office in London so please be sure to keep this date free in your diary.  

From here the judges will decide who take the winning title for the Student IT Innovation Awards.

Please be aware of the following deadlines:

Final submissions to be received no later then:

Midnight Friday 13th November

All finalists will be notified by:

Friday 20th November

Final judging and winner announcement:

Tuesday 1st December 

Terms and Conditions