New venture competition champions announced
The 2009 John Heine Entrepreneurial Challenge (JHEC) Overall Winning Team has been announced following 2 days of competition in Melbourne. JHEC is Australia’s only national new venture new venture competition for tertiary students, with the winner earning the right to represent Australia in the Global MOOT Corp® Competition.
Double Tamper Guard™, a tamper proof anti-doping sample collection device has been named the Overall Winning Venture at the John Heine Entrepreneurial Challenge and has been awarded $10,000 cash start-up funds to assist in commercialising the product.
The Double Tamper Guard ™team from Swinburne University of Technology also wins $15,000 to assist them with expenses in representing Australia on the international stage at Global Moot Corp® Competition hosted by the University of Texas at Austin in May 2010.
Representing Australian National University (ANU) Di Pietro Engineering, producers of Fibreform- a composite material manufacturing machine, were awarded First Runner Up. QUT’s inSURFhaler a wrist-mounted, waterproof asthma puffer received the place of Second Runner Up.
QUT Director of Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Business, Dr Amanda Gudmundsson, believes that entrepreneurial activity is an important economic driver.
“Establishing and growing successful new businesses takes more than just a good idea. Our MBA candidates have a passion for business and through participation in the John Heine Entrepreneurial Challenge they are able to put their formal learning into practice, to challenge their skills, to connect with potential investors and the business community and receive valuable insight from successful entrepreneurs and business professionals” she said.
Each winning team receives a cash prize from the Heine Family and other in-kind services from sponsoring organisations McCullough Robertson Lawyers; Allbern Print and Design; Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick and Business Angels.
Two panels of expert judges scrutinised ten new ventures over two days of intense competition. Judges included global serial entrepreneur, Dr Tom McKaskill; Ruth Drinkwater, CEO Australian Association of Angel Investors; Dr John Kapeleris, Director of Commercialisation, Australian Institute for Commercialisation; David Longmuir, Associate, Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick; Mark Manteit, CEO, Phillip Island Nature Park and Colin Graham, CEO, Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast Pty Ltd.
The full list of prize recipients can be viewed at: http://www.johnheinechallenge.org/competitor/prizes.jsp
An overview of all competing teams can be viewed at: http://www.johnheinechallenge.org/program/2009CompetingTeams.jsp
In December 2010, the John Heine Challenge will be hosted by University of Adelaide in partnership with organising university, QUT.
For Further information please contact: Julie-Anne Sully ja.sully@qut.edu.au or 07)3138 8380 or Belinda Hopgood b.hopgood@qut.edu.au or 07 3138 4029.
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