Lochaber, Nairn, Wick, Keith and Fortrose bright lights win through
In the Young Innovators shortlist, for ICT Young Challenge 2008, teams from Lochaber, Nairn, Wick, Keith and two from Fortrose and were chosen from sixteen teams. These six have been chosen to go on a week-long 'Hot House' at the Fairburn Activity Centre in Maryburgh, Ross-shire on 23-27 June. There, they will face specialists from a consortium of organisations including BT, Microsoft, the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UHI Millennium Institute and HIE.
Wick High (from left to right) Alan Sinclair, Laura Oag, Calum Risbridger and Adam Risbridger.
The Wick product is an Interactive belt with an MP3 player and bluetooth on it and a vest like backpack which can be kept charged Their product also gives you your heart beat while out walking or sitting and it straps on.
The Nairn idea is one to appeal to models world wide, not to mention the the shop till you drop brigade. This is a scanning device which you attach to your mobile phone. Instead of trying on clothes in shops you scan the barcode. Using a downloaded programme on your phone , which already has your measurement input,
the device will tell you if the item of clothing you've just scanned will fit you or not and a picture on your phone would show you what you would look like with the item on!
John Mackenzie is the project manager for Youth Challenge at HIEsaid: "It was so difficult for the judges to choose six to go through as the standard was so high this year and it has never been so close. We congratulate all the finalists for making it this far in the challenge and wee look forward to working with them at the week long event in June."
The winners will win a trip to the world famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, hosted by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Two other finalist teams will win sponsor trips - one to BT's European Research Labs at Adastral Park in Suffolk and the other to Microsoft's development headquarters in Seattle.
The competition is about growing ideas for exciting new businesses based on information and communication technology for young people up to 20 years old living in the Highlands and Islands.