Accra, Aug. 30, GNA - The British Council in partnership with TIGO, a telecommunication network, on Tuesday launched 93The Challenge" Season III TV show. The show aims at giving university graduates the opportunity to pursue postgraduate courses in two leading universities in the United Kingdom.
The TV show is supported by Westminster University, Robert Gordon University, Stratcom Africa and IPMC. Ms Esther Amba Numaba Cobbah, Board Member of the TV show, speaking at the press launch said, The Challenge reality show was about aspiration, achievement, fulfilment and provision of opportunities for people seeking to access UK education. Ms Cobbah, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Stratcom Africa, a communications and public relations consultancy, said her company had associated itself with the programme because it believed in excellence.
She noted that The Challenge 2011, sought to elicit originality, skill and innovation through clever, challenging and fun-filled engagement that would enhance creativity and help bring out the best of talents from the contestants.
Ms Ama Daaku, Solutions Manager of Tigo, said The Challenge Season III had at stake full board postgraduate scholarships worth 70,000 British Pounds, with the winner and runner-up guaranteed postgraduate admission at the Robert Gordon University and University of Westminster respectively, accompanied by a fully paid accommodation and a monthly living allowance.
She said the top winners would return to Ghana upon completion of their courses better equipped for the job market. Ms Daaku said out of thousands of applications, 25 semi-finalists were selected through a combination of aptitude and psychographic tests, demonstration of academic excellence, leadership competencies as well as character and creativity.
She said the 25 candidates underwent a series of interviews by a panel, which included representatives of the universities, leading to a shortlist of 12 finalists to participate in the reality TV show. Ms Daaku said the 12 finalists would receive extensive personal and professional development training and compete against each other in a series of weekly tests, debates, tasks and quizzes in management and leadership.
She said depending on performance against the set criteria, three contestants would be nominated by the Board for eviction after three segments of the show adding that, seven out of the 12 contestants would be evicted over a 13-week period.
Ms Daaku said the remaining five contestants would enter into a final contest to determine the winner of the grand prize. The 12 finalists each received laptop from IMPC, modem and phones from Tigo to prepare them for the reality TV show.
