Your innovative thinking could pay off big
Ontario Centres of Excellence is
hosting their annual Discovery
conference on May 14 and 15 at
the Metro Toronto Convention
Centre. The Discovery 2012
Conference takes ideas from innovation
to commercialization. It
brings together key figures from
industry, academia, government,
the investment community as well
as entrepreneurs and students in
order to pursue collaboration
opportunities.
A feature of the Discovery 2012 Conference is a few competitions geared towards students, including the Social Enterprise Student Competition and the Student Video Competition.
The Social Enterprise Student Competition is for students with an idea for a new socially responsible product, service or business model. It is an opportunity to receive guidance in developing a business plan and then present it to leading social innovation experts at the conference. Social innovation refers to new ideas that resolve existing social, cultural, economic and environmental challenges.
Participants must submit a 1,000-word business plan by April 2, and then 10 finalists will be chosen and paired up with a leading social innovator to receive mentoring and guidance. All finalists will then pitch their plan at the Discovery 2012 Conference in May where the winners will be announced. The first-place winner will receive $25,000, second place will receive $10,000 and third place will receive $5,000. The 10 semi-finalists will also receive a reimbursement of up to $1,000 for eligible expenses incurred while preparing their business plan.
One of the other competitions involved in Discovery 2012 is the Student Video Competition. Here, students make a three-minute video pitch using props, computer graphics or any other element they can think of. The pitch should focus on a new technology, innovation or start-up idea the student wishes to take to the next level.
Submission forms must be entered by April 2 and videos must be uploaded to YouTube by April 30. The top 25 videos will be featured on the Ontario Centres of Excellence YouTube channel, their Facebook page and will be shown at the Discovery 2012 Conference. Winning submissions will receive one of three cash prizes of up to $2,500.
For more information on the conference, competition rules and detailed submission requirements, visit tinyurl.com/ocecomps2012.
A feature of the Discovery 2012 Conference is a few competitions geared towards students, including the Social Enterprise Student Competition and the Student Video Competition.
The Social Enterprise Student Competition is for students with an idea for a new socially responsible product, service or business model. It is an opportunity to receive guidance in developing a business plan and then present it to leading social innovation experts at the conference. Social innovation refers to new ideas that resolve existing social, cultural, economic and environmental challenges.
Participants must submit a 1,000-word business plan by April 2, and then 10 finalists will be chosen and paired up with a leading social innovator to receive mentoring and guidance. All finalists will then pitch their plan at the Discovery 2012 Conference in May where the winners will be announced. The first-place winner will receive $25,000, second place will receive $10,000 and third place will receive $5,000. The 10 semi-finalists will also receive a reimbursement of up to $1,000 for eligible expenses incurred while preparing their business plan.
One of the other competitions involved in Discovery 2012 is the Student Video Competition. Here, students make a three-minute video pitch using props, computer graphics or any other element they can think of. The pitch should focus on a new technology, innovation or start-up idea the student wishes to take to the next level.
Submission forms must be entered by April 2 and videos must be uploaded to YouTube by April 30. The top 25 videos will be featured on the Ontario Centres of Excellence YouTube channel, their Facebook page and will be shown at the Discovery 2012 Conference. Winning submissions will receive one of three cash prizes of up to $2,500.
For more information on the conference, competition rules and detailed submission requirements, visit tinyurl.com/ocecomps2012.
