Want to win one of five £100 tabs at Ithaca?

About a month ago, we told you about Manchester Masters: a new employment programme for graduates of Manchester's universities. It aims to make sure that the best students don't hotfoot it to London or wherever once they've finished their degrees. We want to keep them in Manchester because their bigger-than-average brains, inspired ideas, and go-getting attitudes are good news for the local economy, which ultimately, is good news for all of us living here.

To get a place on the programme, graduates had to fill out a form and upload a video of themselves explaining exactly why they deserve to be chosen. Those who are selected will get paid placements in companies such as the BBC and Yahoo, and a rent-free city centre apartment for a year – so it's a very big deal for them.

Manchester Masters have whittled down the entries to the 50 best applicants, and now they want your opinions on who should go through to the final ten.

So this week, we'll be showing the shortlisted 30-second videos and asking you to vote on who should go through to the final selection stage. There are 25 posted below and the remaing 25 will be showcased tomorrow (which as any of those graduates could tell you, adds up to a mere 12.5 minutes of viewing time per day). Then we'll keep you posted on who got the most votes.

We're looking for talented people with great ideas and clear potential – vote to tell us who you think fits this description. In years to come, you might find that you voted for the city's next Tom Bloxham or Peter Saville (both graduates from universities in Manchester). Or your candidate might just slip into obscurity never to be heard of again.

Let's hope not though. This is a real opportunity to help Manchester retain the talent and ideas generated in its leading universities. Everyone who votes will be entered into a competition to win one of five £100 tabs at Ithaca – and even if you don't win, the videos are worth viewing for entertainment value alone.

So what are you waiting for? Start viewing the first 25 now and comeback tomorrow for the next 25, then once all 50 applicants have been showcased we will open up the voting.

Juliette Keyte

Samantha Whittingham

Graham Dawson

Daniel Cookney

Kelly Hamblin

Alexandria Furness

Holly O'Boyle

Iain McFadyen

Caroline Hodgson

Laurie Peacock

Chi Atanga

Alana Jones

Chris Greener

Thomas McKenna

Chloe Green

Sam Gough

Luke Doyle

Emily McCleave

Emma Davies

Thomas Reeve

Katie Elizabeth Power

Louisa Townend

Matthew Dayman

Lisa Irons

Paul Waters