Queens' Entrepreneurs' Competition Writeup
Below is a writeup done by the team to share on their experience:
Write-up on the Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition:
The Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition (QEC) is an international business plan competition that allows university students from around the world to unite, present their innovative ideas and develop their entrepreneurial skills, with a chance to win over $25,000. The competition, which takes place annually at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, is Canada’s oldest business plan competition and entirely organized by undergraduate students of the Queen’s School of Business. The Queen’s School of Business is one of the world’s premier business schools, consistently capturing top international rankings for its programs, e.g. its full-time MBA Program, which is ranked #1 in the world outside the Unites States by BusinessWeek magazine. Entering its 19th year, QEC 2007 continues to foster a spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation among today’s youth while preparing them for the challenges of a global marketplace.
QEC 2007 was held at Queen’s University from March 1 - 4, 2007. In November 2006 competitors submit their business plans online to be judged by Queen’s Alumni and professors at Queen’s University. The top sixteen teams internationally are then invited to the final round of competition held at Queen’s University, where they will undergo a two-phased process for a shot at $25,000 in cash and prizes. All sixteen teams will go through a Preliminary Round, after which six of them will further proceed to the Final Round and pitch their business ideas in front of a live panel of judges, organizers and audience.
Perspective as a participant, the “journey” you went thru:
The journey to QEC 2007 really began in the fall of 2006 at the University of Pennsylvania. We were all participants of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Overseas College, a program which gives entrepreneurially and academically driven NUS students an opportunity to not only intern in entrepreneurial start-ups in the United States, Sweden and China, but to also study at world renown universities. While at the University of Pennsylvania, we took a module – Engineering Entrepreneurship, which focuses on the commercialization of high-tech products and ultimately developing a concrete business plan. Our team’s business plan was birthed in the class.
The competition has been an excellent eye-opener and a truly enriching experience. We had the opportunity to meet with some of the most enterprising youths from all over the world, with participants coming from countries as far flung as Australia and Belgium. It was truly an enriching experience being able to interact with these individuals who have great passion and deep knowledge about their product ideas.
A truly rewarding aspect of the competition has been the ability to obtain feedback about our business plan from a panel of distinguished judges, successful entrepreneurs and businessmen from the Canadian business world. Some of these judges include Clive Beddoe, founder of highly successful Canadian budget airline, WestJet.
The entire experience for the Queen’s Entrepreneurship Competition has certainly been a highlight of our undergraduate experience here in NUS.
