Terms and conditions
- Updated on 27/05/2010 to extend Life Academy competition closing date until 31/05/2010, see section 5 below
- 1. ELIGIBILITY: This competition is open to any person resident in the UK, aged between eighteen (18) and twenty five (25) years (the “Entrant”). Employees of Microsoft or its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising or promotion agencies are not eligible, nor are members of these employees’ families (defined as parents, children, siblings, spouses and life partners).
- 2. TO ENTER: Entrants’ entry will comprise of an idea or project which they would like to implement or take to the next level and which they would like to pitch to a panel of experts in order to compete for a grant to realize their idea or project (the “Life Academy Pitch”). One (1) entry per person. To enter, an entrant must complete an Life Academy Pitch entry which complies with the below requirements (an “Eligible Entry”):
- i. Entrant must submit one (1) video describing their Life Academy Pitch (with an emphasis on how it can be achieved online or with technology) which must be of thirty (30) seconds to one hundred and twenty (120) seconds in length and to www.lifeacademy.uk.com via an Entry Point (as defined below). Almost all video platforms are accepted (accepted file types include .mpg, .mp4, .flv, .avi, .mov, .wmv, .3gp).
- ii. The video describing Entrant’s Life Academy Pitch must be relevant for one of the following categories (each a “Category” and together the “Categories”):
- a. Adventurer Explorer Grant: a Life Academy Pitch related to a travel, adventure or environment projects and has an online element e.g. volunteering and e-fundraising in country of need; online campaign to protect a landmark or ecosystem of environmental significance.
- b. Online Venture Explorer Grant: a Life Academy Pitch that is related to a technology, entrepreneurial and business ideas and has an online element e.g. online start-up to provide community services; technology invention to provide green energy.
- c. Creativity Explorer Grant: a Life Academy Pitch that is related to creativity, media and the arts and has an online connection e.g. an online art exhibition of visually impaired artists to be uploaded to MSN Video Player.
The examples above are provided for illustrative purposes only and cannot be the sole subject of an entry.
- iii. The entry must have a working title and include a brief written description.
- iv. Entries need to demonstrate ideas that reflect aspects of social responsibility and/or philanthropy.
- v. Entries need to have an online online or technology element.
- vi. Entries need to be practical, realistic and must be capable of being undertaken and completed within a twelve (12) month period.
- ii. Entrants must be aged between eighteen (18) and twenty five (25) years.
- viii. The Life Academy Pitch cannot be related to covering the costs of course fees, living expenses, insurance, travel or other general maintenance costs that the Entrant might incur.
- ix. Video content must not be offensive or infringe or violate any other persons’ rights. The content must not be hateful, threatening, pornographic, contain nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence. Microsoft reserves the right to refuse an entry containing any of the above.
- x. The entrant must be able to prove that this idea is unique to them and not knowingly copied from an existing idea.
- xi. Entrants agree that their entry may be used as case studies for PR/promotional purposes.
- xii. The Life Academy Pitch may not be the subject of a previously received a grant/award by the Entrant.
- xiii. Entrants must be available to attend finalist judging event w/c 21 June 2010 in London.
- xiv. Entrants can contact ieacademy@3monkeys.co.uk to organise a suitable method to submit an entry in the event that a disability or inaccessibility to a camera prohibits entry.
- 3. ENTRY POINTS:
- i. To participate you can submit your Life Academy Eligible Entry in one (1) of three (3) ways (the “Entry Point”):
- 1. to the competition website at www.lifeacademy.uk.com;
- 2. via the promotion video booths appearing at shopping centres in Southampton, Leicester and Birmingham; or
- 3. with the assistance of a student brand ambassador at ten (10) universities including Birmingham City, Bournemouth, Bristol, Brighton, De Montfort, Hull, Kings College London, Nottingham Trent, Reading and University of Anglia.
Each Entry Point will have the terms and conditions for you to accept along with the ability for you to complete and submit your entry.
- ii. Entrant may only submit one Eligible Entry to this competition and entry may be submitted to only one category i.e. entrant must not submit an entry which they describe as relevant for more than one category. Incomplete or incoherent entries may be deemed invalid at the sole discretion of Microsoft. Entry constitutes full and unconditional acceptance of these Terms and Conditions. Microsoft reserves the right to disqualify anyone it deems, in its sole discretion to be in breach of these Terms and Conditions. No purchase is necessary to enter this competition.
- 4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:
- i. By submitting your Life Academy video entry you grant Microsoft Corporation and its affiliates (collectively, "Microsoft") an unlimited, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, nonexclusive right and license to use, reproduce, publish, modify, perform and display the Life Academy video entry and its content on the Life Academy website (www.lifeacademy.uk.com) or any replacement or successor to such web page, any Microsoft sub domains, and in any marketing or advertising of any kind related thereto, in any medium now known or later developed.
- ii. All digital images or musical works used in the video cannot violate the privacy or intellectual property rights of any person or entity. This shall include, but not be limited to, all third party copyrighted materials. Any entries found to do so will be disqualified.
- iii. Microsoft will not pay any compensation for your video or contents, or any use we may make of them. By submitting your Life Academy video entry you agree and represent to Microsoft that you are the sole copyright owner of any images or music used.
- iv. Entries will not be returned.
- 5. TIMING:
- i. This competition runs from 3 May 2010 12:00:00 a.m. GMT to 27 May 2010 11:59:00 p. m. GMT. Completed entries must reach Microsoft no later than the extended closing date of 31 May 2010 11:59:00 p.m. GMT.
- ii. Twelve (12) finalists will be announced on 15 June 2010 and the finalists judging day is w/c 21 June 2010, which pursuant to the Entry Criteria, all finalists must attend.
- 6. USE OF DATA: Personal data which you provide when you enter the competition will be used to update you on the Life Academy competition only. Please review the Microsoft Privacy Policy (http://privacy.microsoft.com/en-gb/default.mspx) for details of how we use your data.
- 7. SELECTION OF FINALISTS AND WINNERS:
The finalists and winners are chosen through criteria set out below. The finalists and winners will be notified through telephone or email that they used to submit their competition entry.
12 Finalists:
Microsoft or its agent will view all Eligible Entries and shortlist up to twelve (12) Finalists (up to four (4) per Category). Finalists will only be selected for a Category where there are a representative number of Eligible Entries (with “representative” meaning four (4) or more) which allows for fair judging.. If a Category does not have a representative number of Eligible Entries, Microsoft reserves the right to remove that Category and that Category will not have Finalists chosen and will not have a winner chosen—the Category is deemed forfeited. Finalists are responsible for all travel costs to and from the judging panel w/c 21 June 2010 and other any costs associated with their Eligible Entry or presentation before the judging panel.
3 Winners:
Up to twelve (12) finalists will attend and audition in front of a live judging panel w/c 21 June 2010 with a thirty (30) second to one hundred and twenty (120) second pitch followed with a question and answer section with the judges. The pitch may be the original video submitted as a party of Entrant’s Eligible Entry, or it may be a pitch refining that original video. The judging panel will select one (1) winner from each Category for a total of up to three (3) winners.
The winner may be required to become involved in further publicity or advertising and must be prepared to do this.
Criteria:
The criteria used by the judging panel to select the twelve (12) finalists and three (3) winners will be as follows:
- • The relevance of the entry pitch to the category chosen and entered;
- • The merit of the content of the idea with regards to creativity, topicality, practicality, and realistic execution within a twelve (12) month timescale;
- • Quality of the execution and presentation of the pitch;
- • The entry is an Eligible Entry, meeting all of the requirements of Section 2 above; and
- • The difference the pitch idea will make to society, business and in general.
Public voting on www.lifeacademy.uk.com will be taken into consideration in the overall judging process but the judges’ decision will be final.
- 8. PRIZE:
- i. Pursuant to Section 7 above, each finalist, of which there may be up to twelve (12) (four (4) representing each category) will receive a notebook loaded with Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft Office and Windows 7.
Up to three (3) winners (one from each Category with representative entries pursuant to Section 7 above) will each receive a ten thousand pound (£10,000) cash grant (a “Grant”) to use only to execute their Life Academy Pitch in their Eligible Entry. The winner will work with Microsoft’s agent, 3 Monkeys Communications, with regular communication, to evaluate plans of how they will spend the money, providing quotes and receipts where necessary, and will mutually agree on the time of transfer of Grant funds to the entrant directly. For the avoidance of doubt, 3 Monkey’s Communications will not transfer Grant funds to a third party on the entrant’s behalf. The Grant may not be used to cover course fees, living expenses, insurance or other maintenance type payments. Upon completion of the idea contained in the Eligible Entry, winner will work with 3 Monkeys Communications to complete an evaluation. The Grant needs to be used and the winner’s Life Academy idea contained in their Eligible Entry executed within twelve (12) months of award of the Grant, and in any event no later than 23 June 2011. Any and all taxes related to the award of the Grant to the Winner are the sole responsibility of the Winner.
- 9. LIABILITY:
- i. Microsoft does not accept any responsibility for any additional costs incurred by the Entrant whilst executing the Life Academy pitch. Any and all additional costs (including but not limited to insurance, living, travel and miscellaneous costs) incurred by the Entrant in process of executing the Life Academy pitch, are the sole responsibility of the Entrant and will, under no circumstances be covered by Microsoft.
- ii. Participants in this promotion agree that Microsoft will have no liability whatsoever for any injuries, losses, costs, damage or disappointment of any kind resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly from acceptance, misuse or use of the prize. Nothing in this clause shall limit Microsoft’s liability in respect of death or personal injury arising out of its own negligence or arising out of fraud.
- 10. WINNERS LIST: The winners consent to their name being made publicly available. The winners’ names will be available on www.lifeacademy.uk.com and may used for publicity purposes for three (3) years following the closing date of this competition.
- 11. OTHER: No correspondence will be entered into regarding either this competition or these Terms and Conditions. In the unlikely event of a dispute, Microsoft’s decision shall be final. Microsoft reserves the right to amend, modify, cancel or withdraw this competition at any time without notice.
Promoter: Microsoft Limited, Microsoft Campus, Thames Valley Park, Reading, RG6 1WG, England