The Idea-cation competition was inaugurated last year by IFTM, aiming to stimulate entrepreneurial thinking in Macao. Participants formed teams to join a 3-day bootcamp to develop business ideas on the theme of “Tourism + Innovation” with experienced mentors. The teams pitched their ideas to a panel of judges formed by industry professionals and IFTM faculty.
The prolonged pandemic has caused economic turbulence to Macao. For this reason, Idea-cation 2022 is themed “Innovative Recovery Strategies amidst Adversity”. The aim is to mobilise the community to generate innovative ideas to help local businesses survive and grow, and, in particular, to support the local brands that are housed at the IFTM iRetail Lab. The competition is organised in five tracks: 1) cultural and creative products; 2) fashion jewellery; 3) fashion apparel; 4) health and skincare products; and 5) open track.
A total of 26 teams with 85 participants were shortlisted. Among them, there are 3 teams from other Greater Bay Area cities: Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, and School of Tourism Management of South China Normal University. The competition was preceded by a series of seminars in October conducted by industry professionals surrounding topics of marketing and branding, brand design, entrepreneurship, doing business in GBA, and the new media of Douyin (TikTok), so as to better prepare the teams for the competition. In November, contestant teams worked with mentors from the industry and brand representatives to develop innovative business proposals. The pitching took place on 13 November when contestant teams presented their proposals in front of a judging panel consisting of brand representatives, elites from the industry and IFTM faculty members. Eventually, one champion team was selected by the panel for each track. The winners of the 2022 competition are V-culture studio (cultural and creative products), Eunoia (fashion jewellery), MS (fashion apparel), 同班同學 (health and skincare products), and 探途小組 (open track). Each participating brand may identify potential teams and invite them to further collaborate and adopt their ideas for business enhancement. The president of IFTM Dr. Fanny Vong presented the awards (MOP 5,000 and trophy) to each winning team and congratulated all the participating teams for their efforts. She also took the opportunity to thank the mentors and judges for their valuable support.
Website: https://www2.ift.edu.mo/ideacation/index.php/details