The Spark! Contest, now having embarked on its fifth edition, is blasting into the new decade with another challenge for the young, energy conscious Franco-British innovators and entrepreneurs of the future. This year again tests entrants to pose their ideas for “The next start-up to disrupt the Franco-British low-carbon energy economy” and, as usual, the teams have not disappointed. If you have never had one of the Spark! committee team chew your ear off about how fantastic the Spark! Contest is then you have to check them out – www.thesparkcontest.org.
Each year the contest opens its call for papers on a current topic or challenge of the energy sector. Teams of 2 or 3 contestants submit an idea-on-a-page outlining how their idea will change the world! If successful, they progress as a finalist to join a workshop event for 3 days – held in Paris or London - to cultivate their ideas, network and careers. Open to anyone under 30, having studied/studying in a school of higher education in the UK or France, Spark! prides itself on growing its’ diverse and visionary alumni. Founding sponsors EDF and Rolls-Royce are now joined by a range of supporters of the contest, including NNL, Nuclear AMRC and Framatome, who continue to make Spark! greater year on year.
With intercontinental, interdisciplinary and seriously interesting reads, the first phase entrants have so far not made it easy for the Spark! judges this year. With ideas spanning from carbon emission ‘Fitbits’ and power generating walkways, to energy conscious delivery logistics and virtual power plants, somebody better being calling the Dragon’s Den and warn them: Spark! is coming!
With the final 15 teams now selected, the Contest looks forward to hosting its three-day workshop event in Paris – 18-20th March 2020. This year’s entrants will be hosted at the UK Embassy, EDF and the OECD where they will be united with industry leaders to support one-to-one mentoring and career development.
If you have any questions, or you are interested in supporting Spark! (as a company mentor or committee member) or sponsoring The Spark! Contest, get in touch with the team – communications@thesparkcontest.org
