Entrepreneurs Week Blog

2011 Report
Friday 19 August 2011
Amir Nissen

On the afternoon of Thursday August 11, over 100 university students in Victoria and NSW joined members of the entrepreneurial community at the Opening Ceremony of the fourth annual Entrepreneurs Week 2011. Kicking off with a speech by GE, one of the most innovative and entrepreneurial companies on the planet, Hayley O'Callaghan', gave an insight into the crucial role that innovation plays at GE.

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We were treated to a keynote address by Wai Hong Fong, a Melbourne University alumnus who founded one of Australia's fastest growing stratups 'OzHut'. Wai Hong's story was engaging and real, not just because of his success, but also because he showed that it isn't necessary to flourish at university to make something of yourself. His devotion to self improvement, and overcoming his own lack of knowledge in some of the different areas of business, was inspiring to all in attendance!

Next up was the launch of the highly anticipated Innovator’s Challenge, where teams of up to 5 students are charged with the task of creating as much ‘value’ as possible from an assigned everyday object. Implementing their ideas over the course of the week and documenting them via video, teams are competing for a variety of prizes. The illustrious everyday object that has been chosen for the Innovators Challenge 2011 was the aluminum foil!

 

At the same time, the University of NSW held their own Opening Ceremony. Sebastien Eckersley Maslin from Bluechilli shared his entrepreneurial story and advised students that the best way to become an entrepreneur is to START.


Entrepreneurs Week is an initiative of Student Entrepreneurs that aims to promote a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation at a university level. This initiative has been widely recognised by business, government and the academic community. Key individuals who have pledged their support include the Minister for Innovation, the Honourable Kim Carr, and the University of Melbourne Provost. This week’s program of events includes presentations by entrepreneurs and investors, panel discussions and workshops.

We would like to thank the sponsors of Entrepreneurs Week, without their generous support we would not be able to run this event and continue promoting entrepreneurship to students as a viable way of life.