U21/PwC Innovation Challenge

Universitas 21 and PwC, two globally-focused organisations, have come together to offer exclusive professional development opportunities for graduate students through the Innovation Challenge competition.

The PwC Innovation Challenge encourages postgraduate students (coursework and research) to prepare a three-minute video response to the challenge posed by international consulting firm PwC for your chance to win a cultural exchange experience within a business setting, by taking part in a seven day trip to Dubai (travel will only take place when it is safe and in accordance with global travel guidelines).

The challenge offers students the opportunity to apply their knowledge to ‘real-world’ situations and reflect on their own experiences via a short three-minute video.

You will have the opportunity to vote in the People's Choice via the U21 website between Tuesday 27 July and Friday 20 August 2021 to determine one of the three overall winners.

UQ’s top-ranked videos will receive assistance from the Student Employability Centre to refine their video response and reshoot their video with professional quality. The final video will be submitted to Universitas 21 (U21) for judging.

Please submit your video to UQ Ventures before Saturday 29 May 2021.

Challenge

In the recent Upskilling for Shared Prosperity report by the World Economic Forum and PwC, a case is made to provide employees with learning and development opportunities to expand horizons and minimise skills gaps.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on the global economy in ways we could not have imagined. It has further exposed the inadequacies of our current economic structures and highlights a growing mismatch between people’s current skills and those needed for the jobs at the heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The skills gap is widening and causing greater inequality in the workplace.

Based on the report and proposed call to action, suggest an initiative that can be undertaken by governments and/or businesses and/or education providers that can help improve and maintain shared and sustainable prosperity.

Program details

Students must submit their response to the challenge to ventures@uq.edu.au via video format, either an MP4 file or .MOV and are limited strictly to three minutes in length.

Only one slide can be used during the presentation. Presentations are to be spoken word only, and no additional electronic media (e.g. sound or video files) or props are permitted.

Four entrants from UQ will be chosen to compete against the other universities in our group.

Group submissions are not accepted.

These selected students will work with the Student Employability Centre and Ventures to refine and reshoot their video. Students should not submit their videos directly to U21.

Students at U21 member universities will compete in three groups and one winner will be chosen in each one of the three groups.

Confidentiality and intellectual property

By submitting an entry to the Innovation Challenge, students are acknowledging that their ideas/research will be made publicly accessible and shared with industry professionals. Videos will be uploaded to Vimeo and disseminated through the U21 website and social media platforms (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), and PwC’s media channels. Student videos will be shared with PwC’s clients (they will be notified which clients). Judges, reviewers, staff and the audience will not be asked to sign non- disclosure statements.

U21 and PwC may take stills, video and/or audio clips of the presentations, or copy material prepared for use in the presentation, for promotional purposes.

If the student’s presentation draws on work/ research that is being/has been conducted under contract with an outside sponsor, they are advised to discuss the related contractual terms of confidentiality and intellectual property with their supervisor(s) before participating in this competition. U21 and PwC have the right to ask a student to withdraw from the competition if these conditions are not met.

Judging Criteria

The videos are judged by PwC and their clients, who are leaders in graduate career development.

People’s Choice vote will determine one of the three overall winners. You will be able to vote via the U21 website between Tuesday 27 July and Friday 20 August 2021.

At every level of the competition each competitor will be assessed on the 8 judging criteria listed below (whether in local university heats or final group round). Please note that each criterion is equally weighted.

Comprehension and Content

Did the candidate have a logical approach to answering the question? - i.e. familiarity with the background material, a set of key considerations.
Did the candidate clearly explain their point of view?
Did the candidate articulate the conclusions and recommendations clearly?
Did the candidate provide adequate background information to illustrate points?
Did the candidate spend adequate time on each element of their presentation – or did they elaborate for too long on one aspect or was the presentation rushed?'

Engagement and Communication

Did the presentation make you want to know more from this candidate and potentially employ them?
Did the candidate convey enthusiasm for the challenge and genuine interest in the problem?
Did the candidate capture and maintain your attention? (sufficient stage presence, eye contact and vocal range; maintain a steady pace, confident stance)

Prize

Three first prize winners will be selected; they will be awarded with a week-long expenses-paid trip to Dubai, courtesy of PwC. Note that travel will only take place when it is safe to do so and will be in accordance with global travel guidelines. Alternatively, in discussion with the winner(s), PwC will consider hosting the winner(s) at another PwC office locally (but this cannot be guaranteed).

There will be 7 runners up who will receive career development coaching sessions, courtesy of the PwC Academy. All approved entrants into the U21 final will receive exclusive access to online courses provided by the PwC Academy to support workplace skills development. A non-credited commendation certificate will be given by U21/PwC to each student who enters the competition.