NSCC campuses across the province will be taking part in a special challenge Friday.
Burridge and Shelburne Principal Mary Thompson says more than 400 students will work in teams to solve the Premier’s Challenge Nova Scotia.
“It is something that started a couple of years ago and, basically, what happens is, the Premier puts out a challenge and nobody knows what the challenge is before it gets announced, and it’s generally a challenge that focuses on economical community development in the province.”
She says the idea of having the challenge came about in 2014.
“This really came about after the One Nova Scotia Report and it’s kind of a way to keep looking at how do we use the resources and expertise at hand to really help drive some of those solutions, so it’s really part of that collaborative process.”
Clarence Ngoh, from the Faculty of IT, says hundreds of students will gather just before 10am to find out what this year’s Challenge Nova Scotia will be.
“The Premier and Don Bureaux, the President of NSCC, have pre-recorded a particular challenge that will be presented to the students and then, from that time on, we will have some guest speakers from industry and entrepreneur that will present their expertise for the students to work on the ideas.”
The teams have until 10pm to come up with a solution, which is pitched on a 90 second video, with that time being strictly adhered to.
The submissions are reviewed by an external panel of judges, with three cash prizes of $2,000, $1500 and $1000.
The top three teams will also have their videos presented to Premier McNeil for consideration.