Bright sparks wanted for £10,000 competition

Apr 21 2009 By The Journal

CONSULTANCY support worth £10,000 is being offered to the North East’s burgeoning digital cluster at this year’s Investing in a Secure Future Investment Conference in a competition designed to help the best technology develop.

Organised by CONNECT North East, the event takes place at Hardwick Hall Hotel, Sedgefield, on April 28.

This year sees a digital dimension added to the programme with innovators at the ‘ideas stage’ of development being challenged to contribute to national safety and security solutions.

As part of the conference, London-based Secure Futures is offering up to £10,000 worth of consultancy support through the Secure Sparks initiative, a dedicated strategic consultancy programme for early-stage innovators and technologies in the public security space.

Secure Sparks is designed to jump-start novel technologies into value, by driving commercialisation, providing strategic insight and accessing end-users, policymakers, acquirers and investors.

To enter the competition, digital businesses at the ‘ideas stage’ should attend the conference with a poster or demonstration of their idea or technology showing why they think they might have a public security benefit.

The best idea on the day will be invited to join the Secure Sparks programme. This will give them personalised and intensive coaching and support to help turn ideas into a business proposition. They will be given insights into the public security market, introduced to end-users, policymakers and potential acquirers and investors.

On top of the Secure Sparks competition, CONNECT North East is offering 10 bursary conference places through their regional partners Codeworks and the IDI and Digital City in Teesside to enable the region to showcase early stage digital businesses.