Six finalists will present at QUT today (THURSDAY 6 NOVEMBER) for the chance to win the G20 Global Business Challenge and $100,000 in prize money.
The Challenge, a business competition for universities and business schools, is being run by Brisbane's three universities, QUT, The University of Queensland (UQ) and Griffith University along with the State Government.
The competition, being run in the lead up to the G20 Global Leaders' Summit, tasked teams from the world's top graduate schools and universities with developing an "innovative solution to use, recycle and/or manage water to achieve beneficial large scale impact".
Forty teams representing 18 countries submitted entries, and the six finalists will today present their ideas to a panel of judges of Australian and international business leaders.
The finalist teams represent the University of Pennsylvania/Berkley/UQ, University of Warsaw, Memorial University Canada, Nottingham University UK, UQ, and Griffith University
QUT Graduate School of Business Executive Director, Bob O'Connor, said after the volume and quality of entries, it was an achievement in itself to reach the finals.
"Judges have been hugely impressed with the innovations teams have devised in an effort to find a sustainable solution to what is a global problem," he said.
"The new technologies and ground-breaking business and financial models finalists have developed can lead to credible projects that could one day solve a critical water issue within communities across the world."
The winners will be announced at a gala dinner this evening, held at Room Three Sixty at QUT's Gardens Point campus.
The first-placed team will receive $100,000, with $15,000 to the second-placed team and $10,000 to the third.
Team presentations will take place today from 8am to 4pm, in Room P421, P Block, at QUT's Gardens Point campus.
Team finalists are:
AFK Studios, representing the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Pennsylvania, and The University of Queensland
Nasa, representing The University of Queensland
Impacts Solutions, representing: Griffith University
Team Memorial, representing Memorial university of Newfoundland Canada
BIOrangers, representing: Warsaw School of Economics, Polish Japanese Institute of Information Technology in Warsaw, Warsaw University of Life Sciences Poland
Aquor, representing: University of Nottingham UK.
More information on the G20 Global Business Challenge can be found at www.g20gbc.org
Media contact:
Rob Kidd, QUT Media, 07 3138 1841, rj.kidd@qut.edu.au
After hours, Rose Trapnell, 0407 585 901
