BT Infinity Labs SME Award
For the first time, GS is sponsoring the BT Infinity Lab competition. The Infinity Lab Programme builds on BT’s rich history of engaging with start-ups and encouraging open innovation. This is the fifth round of the competition which runs up to 4 times a year. TechHub have partnered with BT on the Infinity labs competition since its inception and they are on board again this time.

Digital Innovation for the Public Sector
BT supports Government’s view that SMEs are critical to the economy and promoting growth. We are delighted that Stephen Allott, Crown Representative for SMEs, Cabinet Office and James Hall, Crown Representative, Cabinet Office will be part of the judging panel, alongside Elizabeth Varley, Co-founder and CEO of TechHub and Ian Dalton, Robin Ilbert, Dan Kirk and Marco Salzedo from BT.

We’re looking for small companies that will make a big difference to public services, through imaginative digital products and services. This could be in health, education or any other part of central government.

Do you know an SME with an idea that could change lives?
If you work with SMEs, please encourage them to enter. We have sent a targeted email to all SMEs who are part of our supply chain for government contracts and we’ve also invited SMEs who had entered previous rounds of the Infinity labs competition to apply. We are running an article and a series of sponsored links on startups.co.uk to publicise the competition to SMEs that aren’t in our ecosystem. And our partner TechHub www.techhub.com will be blogging about the completion during Q4.

What’s happening when?

12th Jan – 22nd Feb  - Entry period for SMEs – click on the website  www.btplc.com/ideasthatchangelives to upload  a video and complete the entry form
3rd Mar  - Video review panel – we’ll sift through the  entries and identify the priority list
19th Mar    - Shortlist announced
26th Mar  - Pitch session at the BT Tower, dragon’s den style. Followed by announcement of the winner and runners-up

How can you get involved?
I am attaching the press release which is going out on Monday, and a PDF which you can forward to external stakeholders and SMEs.

Please encourage any SMEs you know to enter. If you or external stakeholders would like to attend the Dragon’s Den style pitch session at the BT Tower on 26th March, send me contact details. And if you’d like to stay up to date with what’s happening, follow us on Twitter #BTSMEAward.

To visit BT Business, click here:  http://business.bt.com/