I3 Idea Challenge is open to all undergraduate, graduate and post doctoral students currently enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan and its affiliates as of September 2008.
A team consists of no minimum or maximum amount of members.
Team building will be facilitated through networking events and through mediums such as Facebook and a student’s personal effort in identifying and recruiting potential team members.
Individuals or teams can submit a few lines to a paragraph but no more than 1-page (maximum) introduction of their idea or concept. That’s right, more than one can be submitted. These ideas or concept introductions will then be reviewed and feedback will be provided. They will not be judged or ranked, so let your imaginations roam free.
Register on-line and feedback will be received shortly.
You will have access to and feedback from various mentors, judges, consultants, entrepreneurs and industry professionals. This will assist in later stages of the I3 Idea Challenge. Great opportunity to meet other students from other Colleges with similar interests but different skill sets. Build your networks; you never know when and how these connections can help you. Create employment opportunities and beef up your resumes at the same time. Take part and contribute to the successful launch of the I3 Idea Challenge and the W. Brett Wilson Centre.
A mixer will be planned on campus prior to the Phase 1 deadline. People may register individually and find potential team members at this event. Mixers are a great way to network, to discuss an idea or to find a team to join, not to mention a lot of fun.
Submissions can begin on September 23, 2008. You may enter as many submissions as you like prior to the submission deadline. It will be attempted to answer your submission as soon as possible.
Submissions will be accepted up to November 7th, 2008 @ 12:00 noon through the W. Brett Wilson Centre for Entrepreneurial Excellence website www.innovate.usask.ca
Describe your business concept in no more than 500 words (one page maximum). A Business Concept Template is provided that outlines what is expected for Phase I submissions. The following items should be addressed:
Proposed product or service
Target Audience
Teams (or individuals) are welcome to submit more than one idea or concept in Phase I. Please do not submit detailed financial plans or full business plans during Phase I. NO TEAM MEMBERS' NAMES should appear anywhere on your submission to I3 Idea Challenge.
Once you have registered for the I3 Idea Challenge, you may update the members of your team and submit your idea or concept. Only Adobe Acrobat pdf files may be submitted.
Initially, you may have only yourself registered on your team, and you can add or drop members.
The introductions are not to be judged; Phase I is for feedback only.
Feedback will be sent to participants within a short time of being received. All introductions should receive responses by November 14, 2008.
Registration and Submission will close at 12:00 noon February 23, 2009.
Submit a business overview of no more than 3,000 words. The business overview should build upon the business concept from Phase I.
• Target market –market feasibility
• Proposed product/service
• Industry & Competitive landscape
• Risk analysis
• Financial feasibility analysis
Click here for further details on the business overview.
Please note that this submission is not yet a full business plan. Rather, it is an opportunity to focus on the product, the market, the competition and assess the financial feasibility of the idea or concept.
Evaluators will have no knowledge of or access to any Phase I entries. Phase II entries should be able to stand alone and should contain all relevant information from the Phase I submission.
No team members' names should appear anywhere on your submission to the I3 Idea Challenge. This allows us to ensure impartiality in the judging process; this rule will be fully enforced with possible disqualification for those who do not comply.
Only Adobe Acrobat files may be submitted.
Feedback from judges on the idea or concept executive summaries will be released and the 25 finalists announced late February- early March.
Submissions must be uploaded by 12:00 noon on April 17, 2009.
Guidelines on developing a full business plan are produced and distributed throughout the year. In general, a business plan must include the following:
Ideally, the business plan will be around 30 pages in length.
The 25 semi-finalist teams can submit their business plans on-line, pdf format, by the date indicated.
The top ten teams will be awarded prizes in graded amounts based on their rank in the I3 Idea Challenge Finals
Feedback will be sent to the 25 finalists in April, and the top finalists will be announced. They will then have three weeks to prepare for the venture final.
Only the top 25 semi-finalist teams from Phase II are invited to participate in Phase III.
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