News Archive

15.11.16

Spark! Contest 2017 Opening

What is the Spark! Contest?

The Spark! Contest 2017 is the second edition of the highly successful competition that was launched last year by members of the Franco-British energy industry and community.  For 2017, the following topic has been chosen: 

​​“Why SMR?" - The unique role that Small Modular Reactor deployment could play in the future challenges of a global energy supply -

Students (of any age) and former students (up to and including 30 years of age), from French and British universities and schools of higher education are invited to participate in this competition as a team of 1, 2 or 3 and to send, before the 16th  December 2016, a 500-word abstract to address the topic of the Spark! Contest 2017. Then, a jury will pre-select the finalists, who will have three months to complete a 10-page paper on the same topic, to be issued before the 17th April 2017 

The best papers will be invited to a prize-giving ceremony to be held at the ENYGF 2017 (Thursday 15th June, 2017 in Manchester). 

In a nutshell, this Award shall provide the participants with a useful stepping stone toward employment in the Energy sector. To those who are already specialised in the Energy sector, the Award is an opportunity to demonstrate their excellence, to network and explore potential future employment opportunities.  For all other participants, the Award represents a rare opportunity to get a foothold in the fascinating world of Energy and to forge their own path into it.

 The Spark! Contest invites current and former students to produce innovative thinking on a topic related to energy, under Franco-British supervision. It is a two-round Contest overseen by leading corporate partners in the energy industry and by Jean-Jacques GAUTROT, Vice-Chairman of the World Nuclear Association.

The aim of the Contest is to foster a Franco-British energy community, in order to bring a pool of young talent closer to industry (visits, internships, scholarships, introduction to senior stakeholders and many other prizes to be awarded!). It is open to current students (of any age) or former students (up to and including 30 years of age) from French and British universities and schools of higher education.

Prizes include paid internships with partner companies and work-shadowing opportunities with senior industry stakeholders.

Provisional Timescale:

  • 10th October 2016: The second edition of the Spark! Contest is officially launched;
  • 16th December 2016: Deadline to send the pre-selection, 500-word 1-pager (in English);
  • 16th January 2017: The pre-selected finalists are notified;
  • 17th April 2017: Deadline to submit the final 10-page document (in English);
  • 15th June 2017: Award Ceremony, during the European Nuclear Young Generation Forum (ENYGF) 2017 in Manchester (UK), in the presence of senior industry stakeholders.

 

Guidelines:

  • You may work alone or as a team of up to 3 members;
  • Additional prize(s) to be available for those who participate as interdisciplinary / multinational teams;

All information related to the Spark! Contest can be found at: www.thesparkcontest.org

For more information, contact: communications@thesparkcontest.org