Georgian Technical University, in partnership with Keele University (Great Britain) is
implementing project “CREATIVE SPARK: Higher Education Enterprise programme”, funded
by British Council.
Aims of the project:
• Develop entrepreneurial skills in students and young people involved in creative
industry;
• Support new and existing small and medium-sized businesses with the help of
incubation process;
• Stimulate and support close cooperation between Georgian Technical University and
Business Sector;
• Knowledge sharing.
Within the framework of the project, International Pitch Competition – BIG IDEA
CHALLENGE preliminary round was held at GTU.
THE BIG IDEA CHALLENGE was announced at GTU at the beginning of April, 2019 and
application deadline was on May 6th, 2019. GTU students, graduates, academic and
administrative staff (between the ages 18-35) were able to submit applications.
Competition has three categories: 1. Digital Technologies; 2. Social Impact; 3. Creative.
On May 8th, workshop was conducted at Georgian Technical University, with participation and
moderation of academic representatives of Keele University. During the workshop, authors of the
ideas participating in BIG IDEA CHALLENGE presented 1 minute pitches to present their ideas, in
total 17 presentations were conducted.
After listening to the presentations, English partners conducted group and individual
consultations and masterclasses aimed at developing ideas, taking into account the specifications
of the competition, to prepare applications and presentations in full compliance with the
competition requirements. After the end of the workshop participants were awarded with
relevant certificates. It should be noted that part of the projects presented at the presentation,
were also presented in another competition within the framework of another Erasmus+
project.
After the workshop, 1 minute video pitches were recorded at GTU student television studio.
International judges, which included representatives from Keele University, selected top 10
applications. The applications were divided into three categories.
Top 10 applicants at GTU:
1. All In One;
2. Recruiter / Employer Platform;
3. RainBow (Bracelets);
4. Wine’s Bro;
5. Inform Children;
6. Hangout With Me;
7. Giftsbook;
8. Construction and renovation in one space – „Easy UP”;
9. SmartION;
10. Helping Hand.
These 10 applications will participate in Country Panel. Winners of Country Panel will be
announced until July 16, 2019. In case of success, they will participate in International panel,
where competitors will be applicants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan,
Kirgizstan and Uzbekistan who will also participate in international stage of the competition. In
addition, People’s Choice winner will also be chosen based on public vote. National competition
winners will be awarded £ 3,000 cash prize, public choice winner will receive £ 2,000 cash
prize, winners in all categories will travel to London Metropolitan University for study visit.
The programme is fully funded by British Council.
Detailed information about the competition see here.
“Creative Spark” is a five year initiative that supports international university and institutional
partnerships to develop enterprise skills and creative economy. The programme will be
implemented in United Kingdom, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
and Kyrgyzstan. Additional information on the project can be found here.
At Georgian Technical University interested persons could be involved in the project in two
ways:
1. New Business Idea – Generating students’ ideas and participating in Big Idea Challenge
international pitch competition has already been completed;
2. Working on real business project – Which involved working on real cases of existing
businesses in partnership with business representatives and mentorship of professors.
This direction of the project is not yet completed, it is still being processed and will be
implemented in the second stage of the project. (This part of the project is implemented
as analogue to existing, successful Keele Research and Innovation Support Programme“
(KRISP) initiative. Which was created to support close cooperation between educational
institutions and business sector in UK. It should be noted, that any interested person can
still become involved in this activity.
The institutional coordination of the project at Georgian Technical university is jointly
implemented by International Relations and Standards Office and Commercialization
Department. The main partners of the project at GTU are GTU Students’ Self-Government and
Department of Social Affairs, Sports and Culture.
For any additional information about the competition, please contact GTU Innovations Centre
(International Relations and Standards Office. GTU Adm. Build. 2nd floor, room 221-223).