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The University of Queensland Business School has announced that entries are now open for Enterprize 2011. Now in it’s 11th year, Enterprize 2011 is offering a first prize of $100,000 in seed capital, for innovative Australians with an unbeatable business start-up idea.
To be in the running for the prize, Australians with the entrepreneurial spirit need to create and submit a business plan for their start-up idea. But you better getting moving to www.business.uq.edu.au/enterprize because entries close on 22 July 2011.
Academic Dean and Head of the University of Queensland Business School, Professor Iain Watson, is expecting a record number of outstanding entries this year as interest in the UQ Business School Enterprize competition grows.
“We’ve had an extraordinary and diverse range of smart ideas and business models put forward over the years,” said Professor Watson.
Since its inception in 2001, the UQ Business School Enterprize competition has showcased dozens of innovative ideas and products to potential investors and provided seed capital to promising start-up ventures.
Last year’s winner, Melbourne-based Southern Innovation’s patented digital pulse processing technology SI-TORO, speeds up the way data is analysed in devices which detect and measure radiation, such as X-ray machines, CT scanners, and equipment which detects drugs, explosives and landmines.
2009 winner CoolMe, created a disposable, lightweight vest which creates an intense cooling effect, to ease heat stress suffered by firefighters and others working in extreme conditions.
2008 winner Bilexys, developed a resource recovery technology that can extract valuable chemicals from a company’s waste-water. These chemicals can be reused, saving money and reducing the business’s carbon footprint.
Southern Innovation Managing Director, David Scoullar, said: “Winning the UQ Business School Enterprize competition gave us a huge boost at a critical time – we are now focusing on licensing our technology to a US company for global release.”
Other Enterprize successes range from medical and scientific breakthroughs, to commercialising open source software solutions and developing alternative fuels. Other successful Enterprize winners include Codesion Cloud Services, which pioneered online source code management, and Hydrexia, which developed new hydrogen storage technology solutions based on novel magnesium alloys.
Enterprize 2011 entrants must submit their concept plans by July 22 and the finalists will be announced in August when finalists will then have a chance to impress the judges, venture capitalists and angel investors at a “Pitch Day” in October, when the winner will be chosen.
The five expert judges this year are:
- Manager of Venture Capital Attraction, Invest Queensland, Department of State Development & Trade, Stewart Gow;
- NBC Capital Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer Bruce Scott;
- OneVentures General Partner Anne-Marie Birkill;
- Southern Cross Venture Partners Founding Manager Bob Christiansen; and
- Chief Executive Officer of i.lab, Colin Kinner.
For more information, entry requirements, to view videos of past winners and finalists, and to enter Enterprize 2011 visit the website: www.business.uq.edu.au/enterprize