Ideas lead to innovations, and innovations lead to development. The young mind of a nation is what surges it forward in the battle for development. Against this backdrop, the British Council aims to bring out an all new season of ‘Ideators’ – a reality TV show aimed at bringing out the best in the youth of Sri Lanka as well as the youth participants from the UK, keeping in tandem to the close academic relationships that we share with the UK. ‘Ideators’ - Season 3, will feature business challenges from the fashion and design sector, in support of the British Council’s work in developing the creative economy.
The first season of “IDEATORS – Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs” was organised as part of the National Entrepreneurship Week held in Sri Lanka in November 2008. The second season, “IDEATORS – Next Generation Entrepreneurs” was broadcast in early 2010. Following from the immense success of the first two edition, the third instalment promises more challenges and surprises, and a great platform for budding entrepreneurs to showcase their talents.
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“Ideators is a competition that judges the entrepreneurial skills of aspiring UK and Sri Lankan undergraduates. The aim of this television show is to create an interactive platform for a selected group of aspiring young entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka and the UK to present their innovation and entrepreneurial skills in a live and competitive environment”, says Mr. Randima Jayasinghe, Manager Marketing and Communications, British Council. “Thereby promoting innovation and entrepreneurship among youth”.
Six university students from the UK and 6 Sri Lankan university students are brought together, mixed up, and divided into two teams.
Each team is given a challenging business to be completed within a given time-frame. At the end of the task, both teams face a tough panel of judges, where one team is identified as the losing team. After further probing, the judges then eliminate one contestant from the losing team. The challenges continue until one contestant titled ‘The British Council IDEATOR’ remains.
‘Ideators’ will be judged by Tony Reilly, Country Director British Council Sri Lanka; Chandula Abeywickrema, Deputy General Manager – Marketing, Hatton National Bank and Piyumi Perera, Head of Design, Hirdaramani Group of Companies. A visiting judge is also included in the panel of judges for each episode. This judge is from the organisation that sets the business task for that respective episode.
The prizes in store for the ultimate ‘Ideator’ are enticing. If the winner is a UK student, he/she will receive an all-expenses paid internship at a leading organisation in Sri Lanka. If the winner is a Sri Lankan student, he/she will receive an all-expenses paid short-term study course at a leading UK university.
The organizers of ‘Ideators’ aim to bring out the essence of true entrepreneurship from the youth and envisions the creation of a solid platform for the youth to reach their potential.
‘IDEATORS’ Season 3 will be telecast every Saturday at 9.00 p.m. on ITN, starting 14 January 2012. |
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