Rules and Legal Issues

Eligibility

All teams must have at least one student (either undergraduate, graduate or post-graduate) currently enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan or in any of its affiliates. Teams may have a maximum of four members. Individual students may enter. An individual may not participate on more than one team or submit more than one proposal.

Acceptable Business Ideas

Conventional and non-conventional ideas are eligible for the competition, including, but not limited to:

• New venture/new business
• Merger or acquisition, including leveraged buyouts, which will lead to a turnaround, roll-up, or some other significant change that adds value to the current business
• Joint venture, alliance or network-based business (e.g., create new entity from current enterprises)
• Licensing arrangements

Note that all businesses are judged based on the same criteria.

The I³ Idea Challenge Competition Student Management Team reserves the right to reject any submission for reasons including, but not limited to:

• Deemed to be in violation of the University of Saskatchewan Code of Ethics
• Violates any local, provincial or national law
• Appears to be pornographic in nature
• Does not present sufficient content or material appropriate to send to judges for evaluation and feedback
• A team is not eligible to submit a business idea that was previously awarded a prize in the I³ Idea Challenge Competition

Confidentiality

I³ Idea Challenge honors the confidentiality of all participants' business concepts and plans. Business concepts, overviews and plans will not be copied for any purposes other than use in I³ Idea Challenge. The judges also recognize the sensitivity of the materials being presented.

Teams may choose to include an optional disclaimer on the cover sheet of their submissions, recognizing that it is not a legally binding agreement.

As a matter of practicality, confidentiality agreements are not signed as part of the I³ Idea Challenge.

 

University Claims on Student-developed Technology

Students at the University of Saskatchewan who develop new technologies and/or new ventures while enrolled at the University must be aware that the University does have a claim on the intellectual property of the student's technology or venture if one of the following applies:

• The student has worked with compensation under the direct supervision of a faculty member or researcher whose costs are being borne at least in part by the University
• The student has worked under a research grant or other research sponsorship
• The student is commercializing a technology or discovery that was made by a faculty member or other University researcher
• The student has engaged services of a University department and has agreed otherwise as a condition of receiving such services

 

Any advice from faculty members and other resources at the University does not result in an intellectual property claim.

Judges and Mentors

I³ Idea Challenge will publicize the names and associations of all judges, evaluators and mentors who participate in each round of I³ Idea Challenge at the final. I³ Idea Challenge will not, however, provide contact information for individual judges.  The identity of judges that read any particular plan will not be revealed unless the judge specifically requests an opportunity to contact the students who submitted the plan.