17 February 2012
UCA’s top 50 innovative students set the pace and gain IP proctection from Creative Barcode
The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) has gathered together an array of creative industry leaders and experts to find the most innovative student in the South East as part of the Creative Challenge programme (www.creativechallenge.info).
Uwe Derksen, Director of Research + Enterprise at UCA, says
“The Creative Challenge is our annual industry-led programme that helps our most talented students develop their creative business and innovation skills; applied in the context of real world complex demands. The Creative Challenge culminates in a competition to find the most enterprising and innovative students at the University. Expert business people will nurture students with brilliant ideas through a development programme. The programme is designed to identify ten finalists in May.”
Also new this year is Intellectual Property protection though Creative Barcode, who has generously provided each of the top 50 students with an account so all their work and ideas over the coming year, will be authenticated & protected (www.creativebarcode.com).
The competition is open to all students at the University for the Creative Arts. The top 50 finalists have just been announced and are from all 5 campuses across UCA. Ideas are top secret and range in theme and discipline. All 50 students will now benefit enormously from this exciting industry-led programme.
Last year’s winner, Kane O’Flaherty said,
“The Creative Challenge pushed my creative flair, enhanced my technical skills and increased my self-confidence… I found myself as a designer.”
The judges who assess the finalists are top names in design, entertainment and entrepreneurship. Sara Leatherland, Kanoti says,
“I’m looking forward to seeing what the students produce this year. Every year we see an impressively high calibre of students participating in the programme. It is so important in today’s world, where innovation and entrepreneurship are the lifeblood of the creative industries and today’s students are tomorrow’s business associates.”
Past supporters have included industry leaders Karen Millen, Wayne Hemmingway, Sony and Kia UK, and this year the competition is being supported by over thirty businesses including Virgin Media, Sony Computer Entertainment, Kanoti. The top ten finalists will be selected in May and the programme will culminate with the prestigious Creative Challenge awards ceremony, held at Kensington Roof Gardens, London.
Note for editors
The Creative Challenge is in its 7th year and is organised by the Research + Enterprise Department of the University for the Creative Arts (UCA)
The University for the Creative Arts is the biggest arts university outside London and offers a range of courses in art, architecture, communications, design and media across five campuses in the South East of England
The Enterprise Team at UCA acts as a first port of call for UCA’s work with business and the local community. It promotes the extensive resources of the University to support the research and development of new products and services.
Supporters of the Creative Challenge (www.creativechallenge.info) include
Kanoti www.kanoti.com
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd. www.scee.com
Virgin Media www.virginmedia.com
Uwe Derksen
University for the Creative Arts (UCA)
United Kingdom
uderksen@ucreative.ac.uk
www.creativechallenge.info
