Use your entrepreneurial skills to help us save one of the world's most precious resources.
UQ students across all disciplines are encouraged to join our Ventures Industry Challenge. Work with our industry partner to develop a real-world solution to a real-world challenge. This year's challenge focuses on the problems and opportunities surrounding water scarcity. Teams will compete for multiple prizes worth $15,000.
Our 2020 industry partner is WaterStart, a not-for-profit water innovation agency. WaterStart provides a channel for accelerating the adoption of water technologies driven by the needs of water agencies and large consumers.
Key dates
Team registration is now closed.
Submission deadline. 5pm 8 October 2020.
Submit your team's solution to be considered for the pitch event.
Pitch event. 22 October 2020.
Register to watch the top teams pitch for the prize pool of $15,000.
Solve a problem
Choose a water scarcity focus area you'd like to tackle with your team. This could include pollution, infrastructure, sanitation, natural disasters, climate change, or food security. Your team can approach the challenge from a technological, social or environmental perspective.
How it works
Stage 1: Understand your problem
In Stage 1 your team will be working on understanding your chosen water scarcity problem. Book in for the upcoming sessions.
Breakfast with Tomas. 2 September 9.30am-10am
For this session, bring your idea that you are working on.
Mentoring appointments. 7 Sept 9-10am
Drop in Q&A session. 9 Sept 12-2pm
Come along with questions for our industry mentors.
Self-paced video content.
Videos part 1-3 will help you to understand the problem you are working on and to empathise with your customers.
Stage 2: Test your solution
During Stage 2 your team will use your learnings on problem discovery and begin to test your market. Book in your team for the upcoming sessions.
Breakfast with Tomas. 16 September 9.30am-10am
For this session, we'll discuss how teams are going with testing their solutions.
Q&A Mentor Session. 23 September 12-2pm
Self-paced video content.
For Stage 2 of the challenge, videos part 4-8 will help you to test your market by rapid prototyping, performing market validation and trialing business models.
Stage 3: Pitch practise
In the last stage of the challenge, your team will be busy preparing and practicing your pitch ahead for the submission deadline at 5pm 8 October. Book in your team for the upcoming sessions.
Q&A Mentor Session. 29 September 12-2pm
Join our industry partners and Ventures staff for an informal Q&A session.
Self-paced video content.
For Stage 3 of the challenge, videos part 9-10 will help your team to refine and develop a compelling online pitch.
Stage 4: Pitch your solution
Your team will need to submit a pitch video by 5pm 8 October 2020 to enter the challenge.
Pitch Practise. 6 October 12-2pm
Submit pitch. 8 October by 5pm
If your solution is shortlisted, your team will be invited to present your solution at our virtual pitch presentation on 22 October 2020.
Teams will compete for a prize pool of $15,000 in front of judges and an audience.
At least one team member must participate in the virtual pitch.
Judging criteria
- Level of innovation (30%) – is the proposed solution a new or significantly different approach taken to solve the challenge that will provide value?
- Viable (30%) – is the proposed solution feasible in terms of resources required for successful implementation?
- Customer value (30%) – how well does the proposed solution meet the customer's need and deliver benefits?
- Presentation (10%) – does the pitch tell a succinct yet detailed, compelling proposal to take action and support the proposed solution?
Support available
Check out the support available for your teams as you progress through the challenge.
Why water?
While the global population continues to grow, access to fresh water has become increasingly scarce.
Billions of people around the world still lack access to safe drinking water and appropriate sanitation. Water availability is also becoming less predictable around the world due to an increase in droughts natural disasters. According to the UN, water scarcity could displace 700 million people by 2030.
Water is essential not only to health, but also to poverty reduction, food security, peace and human rights, ecosystems and education. This Industry Challenge aims to address how we can use water resource management and sustainability to maintain the lives and industries of communities around the world.
Our industry partner
In affiliation with:
Why participate
By participating in the Challenge you will be able to:
- showcase your entrepreneurial skills to industry,
- build your networks,
- strengthen your entrepreneurial skills,
- work with students outside your discipline
- address a real problem worth solving, and
- have the chance to win a cash prize!
Prizes
First place: $10,000 cash, the opportunity to pitch at the annual Ventures Showcase and Celebration event, and exclusive mentoring session with a Ventures entrepreneur-in-residence
Second place: $3,000 cash and exclusive mentoring session with a Ventures entrepreneur-in-residence
Third place: $2,000 cash and exclusive mentoring session with a Ventures entrepreneur-in-residence
Have a question?
For more information about the Ventures Industry Challenge, contact the Ventures team