Interactive shopping list? It's an eChallenge

eChallenge 2010: promoting an entrepreneurial culture

Monday, 16 August 2010

Innovative ideas ranging from a secondhand textbook exchange to an automatically generated interactive shopping list will be showcased at the University of Adelaide next Tuesday 17 August as part of the eChallenge 2010.

Twenty-one teams of young entrepreneurs will present their developing concepts to an invited audience at the eChallenge 2010 Venture Showcase on 17 August.

The annual competition is run by the University's Entrepreneurship Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC) and incorporates business and entrepreneurial workshops, team mentoring by industry professionals, networking opportunities and help in developing new business ideas.

eChallenge aims to foster the development of new ideas into investment-ready early-stage companies, creating genuine commercial prospects that benefit South Australia.

Teams including students from the State's three universities and TAFE join members from the broader community to develop a business plan for a new, previously unfunded concept. One member of each team must be a tertiary student.

The 21 semi-finalists have eight weeks of workshops and sessions with their mentors before finalising their business plans by the end of August. Judging will follow in mid-September with five or six teams progressing through to the finals round with the winners announced at the eChallenge Awards Presentation night on 29 October.

ECIC Director Professor Noel Lindsay said: "The eChallenge is one of Australia's leading entrepreneurial competitions and is helping develop an entrepreneurial culture in South Australia and to stimulate new business opportunities.

"The Venture Showcase offers the first major opportunity for teams to hone their presentation skills and display their concepts to an audience of University staff, sponsors, judges, mentors and other guests."

For more information visit www.adelaide.edu.au/echallenge/

ECIC develops entrepreneurship, innovation, technology commercialisation, and project management capability in individuals and organisations. The centre offers a range of academic programs in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship, commercialisation and project management. Visit http://www.ecic.adelaide.edu.au/ for more information.

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