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2020 Deakin Bowater Business Challenge

Deakin Business students showed off their entrepreneurial skills in this year's cyber-sccurity themed competition.

Every year Business and Law students engage with external stakeholders and develop innovative strategies to address an authentic, real-world challenge focused on entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability. Now in its twelfth year, we are fortunate that the Bowater Trust continues to sponsor the challenge.

This year’s theme: Brand awareness in the Asia Pacific region: The case for CyRise, a Melbourne cyber security venture accelerator.To grow CyRise in Australia and the Asia Pacific region through marketing and communication insights, plans and brand awareness

Students could apply as individuals or as teams.  Nine teams of 3-4 students competed in the preliminary round in August.  Only four teams could be chosen for the finals and each of these finalist teams was appointed an academic mentor to support them at a virtual briefing day with CyRise. Teams formulated a solution to present at our finals on 8 September virtually. Presentations at the final were indeed impressive and made it difficult for our judging panel to determine the winners.

CyRise company representative Chloe Dutschke, Head of Programs and Communications advised that the company will definitely consider the recommendations suggested and found great value in being a sponsor for this year’s challenge.  A testament to our students and our curriculum which provides the foundation to apply solutions to real-world business challenges.

A special thanks to Bowater Trust for their continued support to our students, CyRise for providing the challenge, our academic mentors who supported our finalist teams and our judges who had the difficult job to determine the winners.  Congratulations and thanks to our student teams who participated in this year’s challenge entirely online!  

The final results for this challenge;

 

1st Prize: $2,000 awarded to Team Biscuits (below):

  • Soumya Gupta, Elly Sofronidis, Francesca Yeong, Janey Nguyen
  • Academic Mentor: Dr Lasitha Dharmasena

 

2nd Prize: $1,200 awarded to Team Cyber Safe Sistas (below):

  • Ella Harris, Jessica Wayne, Iris Nguyen, Mahima Jacob
  • Academic Mentor: Tracey McDowall

 

3rd Prize: $600 awarded to Team Marketing Pandits and $600 awarded to Team Unemployed 4

  • Team Marketing Pandits: Bhavik Jain, Suroor Syed, Tanner Aven
  • Academic Mentor: A/Prof Aydogan Ulker
  • Team Unemployed 4: Danica Naidoo, Jasmine Daneshvar, Seraka Ratnayake, Alexander Lanham
  • Academic Mentor: Dr Matthew Lister

 

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