VentureJam 2017 is the official youth strand of Venturefest Scotland, the national innovation summit to be held in Glasgow later in the year.
Now in its third year, VentureJam 2017 will host 40 young ‘hipsters, hackers and hustlers’ as they take part in the ‘Energy Innovation Challenge’ at an immersive ‘hackathon-style’ weekend at Glasgow Science Centre from 18 to 20 August. At the event, teams of young people will explore radical ideas that could improve lives whilst supporting the Scottish Government’s ambitious vision for the future energy system in Scotland to 2050, as laid down in the draft Scottish Energy Strategy.
Organised by Glasgow City of Science and Innovation and Young Scot, the ‘Jam’ will be delivered by inspirational mentors from the world of television, gaming, product design and digital media as well as top entrepreneurship experts and energy gurus, to help guide the young people through the challenge developing innovative ideas that will disrupt the energy market.
At the end of the two and half day workshop, two teams with the best ideas for reducing energy use or promoting positive energy behaviours will go head to head, Dragon’s Den-style, to pitch their ideas at Venturefest Scotland on Wednesday 20 September 2017.
Entry is open to all Scots aged 14 to 20 who are interested in working in teams to create new ideas (products, games or even interactive art installations) and reimagine the possibilities of how we live our lives and our relationship with energy. Venturejam is looking for a diverse, lively group of young people aged 14-20 from across Scotland with a range of interests from the arts and music (the hipsters!) to science and gaming (the hackers!) as well as wannabe entrepreneurs (the hustlers!). Application forms are available on both the Young Scot and Glasgow City of Science and Innovation websites.
This opportunity comes with the added bonus for the overall winning team to get a once in a life time VIP meeting with Chris van der Kuyl. Van der Kuyl’s company is currently working on console editions of Minecraft for Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.
Scottish Government Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy Paul Wheelhouse said: “New ideas are crucial to the success of our long term energy strategy. We already generate more than half of Scotland’s electricity demand from renewable sources, but we must do more to build a truly integrated energy system that meets our power, transport and heat needs now and into the future. Rapidly evolving new technology has already played an important role in our success so far, but there is much still to do. That’s why I am excited by Venturejam 2017, where young people with vision, enthusiasm and commitment, will come together to generate ideas to support us to meet the energy challenges of the future.”
Chris van der Kuyl said: “Scotland’s future belongs to our young people and VentureJam is a really exciting opportunity for them to try and address the issue of how they can re-purpose existing products and tech and develop new disruptive ways of using energy more sustainably. I look forward to meeting the winning team and hopefully inspire these young people in the future.”
Dr Susie Mitchell, programme director of Glasgow City of Science and Innovation, said: “Innovation has the power to tackle global societal challenges. At VentureJam, Scotland’s young people–our next generation innovators–will be tasked with co-designing fresh and inspiring ideas to tackle our energy guzzling ways, and create a brighter future for our planet”.
Dr Duncan Booker, chief resilience officer of Glasgow City Council said: “We are excited to support Venturejam for the 3rd year running. Resilient and sustainable energy solutions are in need of radical innovation that will improve lives, reduce inequality and drive economic growth. We can wait to see what fresh and inspiring ideas the participants come up with at this year’s Jam to shape Glasgow, and Scotland’s, energy future”.
Louise Macdonald, Chief Executive of Young Scot, said: “Each year we are always very impressed to see the range of ideas, creative thinking, and innovation that comes out of VentureJam. It is an exciting opportunity for young people, taking on the incredibly important challenge of helping improving the environment.”
Leona Seaton, programme director of Developing the Young Workforce – Glasgow said: “We are delighted to be involved again in supporting this innovative project. Creating opportunities for young people to provide solutions to the issues they have inherited is not only exciting but incredibly important. Re-working the existing model will create jobs for the future. I have been blown away every year with the participants’ ideas and this year promises to be the best yet!”
Scotland is leading by example in tackling climate change, with ambitious emissions reduction targets set out in the current Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, which requires an 80% reduction in harmful greenhouse gas emissions across the entire economy and society between 1990 and 2050.
The VentureJam 2017 Energy Innovation Challenge is supported by Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council, Sustainable Glasgow, Venturefest Scotland, Developing the Young Workforce Glasgow and Glasgow Science Centre.
Notes to editors
About Glasgow City of Science and Innovation
Glasgow City of Science and Innovation is a pioneering partnership engaging 96 multi-sector organisations (including academia, government, arts and culture, and business). The initiative acts as a science and innovation interface facilitating creative collaborations to drive innovation with impact; whilst building on, and profiling, Glasgow and the West of Scotland’s offer as a world-class region of science, innovation, culture and place through a range of inspirational partnership programmes. www.glasgowcityofscienceandinnovation.com
About Young Scot
Young Scot is the national youth information and citizenship agency for Scotland, and currently there are over 620,000 Young Scot cardholders across Scotland. Young Scot provides all young people in Scotland aged 11-26 with information, ideas and incentives to enable them to make informed decisions and choices, turn their ideas into action and take advantage of opportunities available throughout Scotland and Europe.
young.scot – The national youth information portal for Scotland
youngscot.net – Young Scot’s corporate website
About Venturefest Scotland
Venturefest Scotland is an annual innovation summit that brings together around 1000 small and medium sized ambitious Scottish companies, entrepreneurs, investors and innovators to connect and explore ways of growing and innovating. Venturefest Scotland, to be held on 20th September 2017 at Glasgow Science Centre, is spearheaded by Innovate UK and the Knowledge Transfer Network, Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow City Council, Glasgow City of Science and Innovation and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Hipster, Hacker and Hustler
The terminology “Hipster, Hacker and Hustler” was coined by Rei Inamoto, the chief creative officer for AKQA at SXSW in 2012 supports the notion of innovating with impact through collaboration. When the Hipster brings the creative design, the Hacker brings technology solutions, and the Hustler finds the right way to package it up and take it to the masses in the form of sales and collaborative partnerships.