The five finalists for the University of Queensland (UQ) Business School Enterprize Awards 2011 have been announced.
The finalists, from a diverse range of fields, will now submit comprehensive business plans to compete for the $100,000 prize. Finalists will then be coached at the UQ Business School and have their final chance to impress judges and investors at a “Pitch Day” on 13 October, when the winner will be chosen.
Head of UQ Business School Professor Iain Watson said the record number of entrants and the diversity of their ideas was a testament to Australian ingenuity.
“The calibre of entries for Enterprize 2011 was exceptional and I would like to thank and congratulate all the entrants for coming up with business concepts and plans that showed amazing innovation and enterprise.
According to Watson, all five finalists demonstrated smart, new ideas and an ability to articulate a vision for their businesses.
The finalists are:
- Captain Therapeutics, aiming to develop a drug to delay the onset and progression of cataracts.
- HaystackHQ, devising an online tool for more efficient international patent searches and analysis.
- Cloevis, creating a low-cost chemical mix that helps stop corrosion and odour in concrete sewer pipes.
- AquaHydrex, developing fabrication technology enabling effective use of synthetic catalysts that will provide an inexpensive low-carbon footprint hydrogen to industry.
- Kaggle, hosting global competitions on an internet hub to build predictive models that matches a client’s problem to the world’s best analyst for it.
Last year’s winner, Southern Innovation, recently announced it has signed its first worldwide licensing agreement.
Managing Director of Southern Innovation, David Scoullar said of this success, “I can’t emphasise enough how crucial winning Enterprize last year and the $100,000 prize was in enabling us to achieve this milestone”.
