Aberdeen Event Details
Date
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Location
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Time
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2024 Winners
Inform Prize 2024 - Video Highlights
What is The Inform Prize?​
Launched in 2014 and funded by Intelligent Plant to encourage students to think about how they might communicate their ideas and research findings to local employers, and promote interaction between industry and academia.
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Students are tasked with creating a digital solution to a real life problem. A panel of judges are presented with videos by the students which demonstrate their teams product in action.
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Teams also take part in a question and answer session before the judges go on to decide who the winners are.
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On the Day
What will happen on the day?
Team Stands
On the day, each team will have their own stand at the event. Here, you can demo what you have built and talk with attendees - some of whom may be potential employers.
Bring a Laptop
On the stand, we highly recommend bringing a laptop or mobile device which you can use to demo your app to attendees. You are welcome to bring other material too such as posters and leaflets, but these are not essential.
Get There Early
We recommend teams get to the venue before the event starts to give plenty of time for setting up stands.
Judging Panel
Later in the afternoon, shortlisted team videos will be shown to event attendees. Teams will not have to present their project. However, you will be asked to come on stage and answer a few questions from the judging panel - don't worry, they're a friendly bunch!​
Networking Tips
A key opportunity with The Inform Prize is connecting with attendees from industry and academia. To be prepared for this, we wanted to offer a few tips:
LinkedIn QR Code and Scanner
This is probably the easiest way of connecting with someone at the event. Every LinkedIn user has their own QR code which they can share with others. This is a straightforward way to get directly to someone's LinkedIn profile
LinkedIn has steps on how to open your QR code/scan a QR code
Have Your Details Available at Your Stand
​Whether that be business cards, a poster, or some other way of showing how to contact the team or individuals in the team is a good way for people to connect. We will also be providing each team member with their own badge which will show your name and team name.
Practice Talking About Your Product
​Consider taking some time before the event to make sure your team knows how to talk about and use your product. Practice together to get comfortable with it.
Video Content
As part of your application, you will need to share a video that markets your solution to the masses. You are free to film your video in whichever way you think works best. However, we do recommend the following:​
Keep it Short and Sweet
​Aim for your video to last no longer than 5 minutes. And please remember to include video captions!
Don't Get Too Technical
​Not everyone in attendance will have a technical background. Make it accessible to the masses.
Be Creative!
Drama, humour, action – do what you think will get your idea across best
The University of Aberdeen has been involved in The Inform Prize since its inception. Our students that compete in The Inform Prize are in their third year, which presents the perfect opportunity to put all they have learned up to that point into practice. Their interactions before, during, and after the event offer a unique opportunity to have direct contact with industry and gives them first-hand experience on designing, marketing, and presenting their product.
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- Dr Matthew Collinson, Head of Computing Science
School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen