Tired of being called as too little to take on this world?
Why do adults have all the fun?
It’s okay to do cool stuff in your teens instead of waiting to become a twenty-something.
SkillsFirst – a project of DEMO Enterprises – is proud to partner with University of Delaware’s Horn Entrepreneurship program to bring The Diamond Challenge competition in Pakistan. Originally part of the Paul & Linda McConnell Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative and launched in 2014, the program is for teenagers from 14 to 18 years of age. It’s purpose is to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurial thinkers.
A global competition with prizes worth $100,000 where winners from 30+ countries will compete in the final round that will take place in US. The winning team in Pakistan will be awarded $1,000 prize money to accelerate their efforts.
NIC (National Incubation Center) is joining hands with SkillsFirst to arrange a platform for this challenge, the finale of which will be held at NIC Islamabad.
Redefining Parameters
Our educational system rarely gives kids with big dreams the opportunities to actually realize them. Saad Hamid, CEO of DEMO and SkillsFirst, realizes the urgency and the necessity of the newer generation having a firm grip of digital education solutions.
SkillsFirst is committed to helping young people learn digital skills, creativity, leadership and entrepreneurial innovation and our partnership with Diamond Challenge helps us achieve that impact for the local community
A sound network where all fresh innovative ideas can gather under one roof is a real challenge for Skillset. They are clear in the goals which are centered towards creating a nurturing environment for adolescents who have the ability to think outside the box.
Calling all Kids
This competition is open for all kids exclusively aged between 14-18 years. The team must have minimum of one member and at least one team advisor. The idea that the team is to present must be for social welfare and should be groundbreaking of its kind.
The Catch
The entire competition will be conducted in two rounds.
Round I
Participants from all around Pakistan will present their ideas before a panel of judges in Islamabad who will then select the most outstanding pitch of all.
The winning group will be awarded 1,000 USD and then will move onto the second round.
Round II
Winners of the local round from all the countries will be sponsored a trip to attend the Diamond Challenge Summit in USA at the university of Delaware in April 2018 so that the they can pitch their idea before an international audience.
The champion gets prizes worth $11,000. Runner up get $7,000 and the third place gets $3,500 worth prizes.
Evaluation Criteria
Both, in the local and the US round of the Diamond Challenge, each team will be judged based on Feasibility, Scalability and Novelty. Each idea presented before the panel of judges must be one of a kind. Practical solutions to real life problems are more likely to gain attention.
Terms & Conditions
- This competition is exclusively for high schoolers
- Participants may apply in teams where each team must consist of at least 2 or at the most 4 members
- Participants may or may not belong to the same school
- Each team will also be accompanied by a mentor (18 years above of age). Team may have more than one adult mentor but only one advisor payment will be covered if they are traveling to the University of Delaware for the Summit.
Follow the step-by-step registration process via online registration here latest by January 5th, 2017: http://skillsfirst.org/diamond-challenge/
Please visit the link above or contact 0334-5335881 for more details.
