“Stay Connected!” – UK Alumni Engagement Solutions Competition 2018 invites Chinese UK alumni to use their creativity and expertise to develop proposals to encourage greater engagement and connectivity among alumni members in China and globally. 

The competition was launched during UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit to China. It is now open for submissions of innovative proposals until 16 March 2018. The winning solution and the winner of this competition will be announced at the end of April 2018.

The winning individual or team of alumni will be offered an exciting opportunity to be part of a project team, consisting of leading experts in digital solutions from Deloitte China and senior marketing managers from the British Council, to develop the winning solution in real life and create the proposed platform from April to July 2018. The project team will be provided with necessary technical and logistic support, with cost covered by the British Council.  

A grant of GBP5,000 will also be awarded to the winning individual or team to cover their travel or logistic cost for working as part of the project team to develop the proposed platform. 

It is expected that the new digital platform will be launched on 1 September 2018. 

The intellectual property of the project would be owned by the British Council. 

Why enter?

  • Raise your international profile, build your professional networks and business connections, work in a professional project team with leading industry experts and win a grant of GBP5,000 to cover travel and logistic cost: just some of the benefits of winning the competition.
  • All shortlisted individuals or teams of alumni will benefit from increased PR and press opportunities that raise their profile.
  • Take the opportunity to turn your creative and innovative ideas into practical business solutions and get feedback and advice from leading experts in digital engagement

 

Who is eligible?

The competition is open to students or alumni who meet the following criteria:

  • Chinese passport holders
  • must have studied, OR be studying at degree level or above either in the UK for a minimum of one term or semester, OR awarded a full UK degree level qualification (or higher), awarded by a recognised  or listed  UK higher education institution.

Alumni can participate as an individual or in small groups with all members meeting the above criteria. 

There are no restrictions on the participants’ current country of residence.

How to enter?

Participants, either joining in as individuals or in small teams, will be asked to develop a practical and logical proposal on using digital solutions to develop a sustainable platform to facilitate active interaction and strong connection between alumni in the network. 

The proposal should explain:

  • what the format of the new platform is (e.g. a newly created platform or website, a platform, or programme, or function attached to an existing public platform)
  • what the design of the platform looks like
  • what main functions does the new platform have
  • what the mechanism of member engagement is
  • how the platform is self-sustainable over the long term (more than 36 months)
  • timeline for platform development
  • estimated resources required and budget plan

The proposal should be written in English. 

When the proposal is ready, participants should click the “Enter now” button on the top or bottom of this page to complete a short competition entry form and then upload the proposal on the webpage.  

Participants will be contacted by the British Council via emails or phone numbers left on the competition entry form.  

Judging criteria

Proposals will be assessed by a judging panel comprising of leading experts in digital solutions from Deloitte China, senior marketing managers from the British Council, and representatives of the UK education sector on the extent to which the proposals meet the following criteria: 

  1. Creativity of the idea
  2. Sustainability of the platform and the engagement mechanism
  3. Level of engagement of the platform
  4. Feasibility of the proposal
  5. Cost effectiveness
  6. Extent to which this could be replicated and then sustained on a global level (e.g. technology compatibility with other countries, worldwide)

A face-to-face or video-conference interview may be arranged with shortlisted individuals or teams in late March 2018 for the judging panel to reach a final decision.

Timeline of the Competition

DATE ACTIVITY
Before 16 March 2018 Submission of proposals
19-23 March 2018 Face-to-face or video-conference interviews with shortlisted individuals or teams;
Final decisions made by the judging panel
23 March - 30 April  2018 The winning proposal and the winner announced;
The grant of GBP 5,000 awarded to the winner or the winning team
April-July 2018 Project team in place; 
The winner or the winning team to work as part of the project team to implement the winning proposal and develop the new platform with a group of professionals
1 September 2018 New platform for UK alumni engagement launched

 
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