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Wollongong scores two research entries in national business plan competition finals
Two University of Wollongong (UOW) business ideas entries are among seven finalists in the annual University of Queensland (UQ) Business School's annual Enterprize competition designed to assist start-up companies with seed capital, business plans and to foster effective networking with venture capitalists.
The outstanding new business ideas were selected from a strong field of entries across Australia and will compete for the $100,000 prize which will be used to commercialise their idea.
One of the UOW entries, ToughSkin is a revolutionary polymer coating technology designed to be applied to upgrades and repairs of major infrastructure projects. It was initially developed to address a key need in the mining industry to prevent the collapsing of underground mine roads which commonly use steel mesh for support.
However, the properties and benefits of ToughSkin have opened up a diverse array of applications and markets, with its additional performance and safety features.
The ToughSkin team at Wollongong is led by Associate Professor Ernest Baafi and Associate Professor Ian Porter, Dr Chris Lukey, Dr Jan Nemcik, and Manager of Innovation and Commercialisation, Dr Scott Needham.
The other UOW entry is Warrapharm Pty Ltd which is a UOW start-up company designing a suite of therapeutic reformulations that offer an improved side-effect profile in the treatment of colorectal cancer. Researchers have reformulated three anti-cancer agents into two pH neutral products, which are designed to be administered as “all in one” treatments via a peripherally inserted catheter.
Researchers in the Warrapharm team include Emeritus Professor John Bremner and Associate Professor Marie Ranson, and Professor Phil Clingan a practising clinical oncologist with a special interest in the treatment of colorectal cancer. Commercial efforts for this technology are being co-ordinated by Dr Gavin Dixon, the Manager of Innovation and Commercialisation for the Science, Medicine, and Health and Behavioural Sciences faculties.
The ideas will be shown at Enterprize Pitch Day on Friday 16 October, where each finalist will make a short public pitch outlining their concepts and business plans before an audience that will include venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. The Enterprize winners will be announced at the conclusion of Pitch Day. All finalists will receive an entrepreneur's pack from i.lab, the Queensland Government's technology incubator and long-time sponsor of Enterprize.
For more information about the finalists contact the relevant Manager of Innovation and Commercialisation (MIC). See here
For more information see the Enterprize website.