One of the more mainstream applications of open innovation are the numerous talent shows that litter our television screens throughout the year.  Whether it’s the X Factor or Britain’s Got Talent, there are no shortage of series charting the progress of a pool of hopefuls striving to hit the big time.

The University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management appears to be taking a leaf out of their book with their recent Rotman Problem Solving Challenge.

The challenge, now in its third year, is offering a full scholarship to the MBA program at Rotman for the winner, who will be tasked with solving a real world problem using Rotman’s model based approach to problem solving.

“We’ve been amazed by the response and participation in our first two challenges which attracted students from a wide range of academic background and professions,” says Leigh Gauthier, Acting Director, Recruitment & Admissions, Rotman Full Time MBA. “Past competitors have found the experience a great opportunity to meet their future classmates as well as other members of the Rotman School community.”

The Challenge consists of three rounds.  The first, which closes this week, asks participants to submit a written response, in no more than 1,000 words, to the following question:

Wearable electronics is poised to grow from a $14 billion market in 2014 to $70 billion in 2024. It is expected that the entertainment, health, fitness, retail, and technology sectors will drive the majority of this growth. Relatively little attention is being given to the potential opportunities created by wearable technology in the education sector. How could wearable technology change education? Are there opportunities to create value with wearables in the education space?

The second round filters out the best 100 of these to present their ideas to a panel of experts via Skype.

A select group will then go forward to the final, whereby they will participate in the Problem Solving Challenge weekend held at Rotman on the 27th and 28th of March.  Each finalist will be placed into an executive team and asked to present their findings to a representative from the school, who will judge on the winner.

A slight caveat is that the Challenge requires participants to submit both their CV and their GMAT score alongside their entry, so it is really tailored towards people with a strong interest in completing an MBA already.

You can find out more information about the Challenge, including how to register, at the Rotman website.