Join the competition!

This year the competition will be organized also in English for international participants!

We encourage innovativeness and creativity by searching, discovering, and rewarding ideas and innovations that showcase real business potential.  Your competition idea can be, for example, a product, a service, an essential improvement of a product or service, or some other well described idea. This competition aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the South-Savo region, which relies on sustainable business, work competence, and well-being. The aim is to increase the utilization of new competence and digitalization.

 

We received 37 applications. Big thanks to all applicants!

 

 

Competition period is 1.4. – 24.11.2022. 

1.4.2022 The competition and its brainstorming phase starts

9.10.2022 Submit your business idea to the link above

10.10.2022 The competition 2022 organizers will contact everyone and sends all applications to the judges

24.10.2022 Applicants will receive feedback and we will also contact our last three finalists

14.11.2022 The three (3) finalists videos  will deliver to the evaluation panel

24.11.2022 at 12:00-14:00 Competition finale live at Xamk Mikkeli campus – Room D128 (or trough Teams if needed)

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR VIDEO MAKERS

Competitions 3 finalists will produce short videos of their business ideas. Some tips:

• • Video length 2 minutes
  • You don’t have to show your face on the video, if you don’t want to.
  • You can e.g., film your business idea and speak on the background.
  • You can film the video on your smartphone – you don’t need to own a video camera.
  • We don’t require the highest quality videos.
  • Participants design the “script” of their videos by themselves.

 

 

RULES

*Participants must read and approve these rules before submitting a competition proposal/idea.

The proposal for the idea is made in Finnish or English. The proposer may be a private person living or studying in the South-Savo region or a company or other entity located and operating in the same region. You can participate alone with your own business idea, or with a common business idea in a team of up to 5 people – It would be ideal for the team to consider who has the ownership of the business idea. The competition is open for everyone, and we are aiming for a service, product idea or business concept that aims for a truly profitable business.

Competition organizers

The main organizer of this competition is The Third Wave of Entrepreneurship- Development Project (ESR), South Eastern University of Applied Sciences, XAMK.

 

THE evaluation panel

The competitions judges will be  Areal Director Heidi Loukiainen, South Savo Entrepreneurs,  Head of Economic Development Tuula Kokkonen, Etelä-Savon maakuntaliitto, Entrepreneur Janne Muikkunen, Rock Solid Oy ja Service manager Ossi Pulliainen, Oma Saving Bank. Each member of the evaluation panel will sign a non-disclosure agreement. The decision of the evaluation panel will be final and cannot be complained about.

 

Assessment criteria for overall review (does not affect scoring)

• • • How well the business idea can be implemented
    • Innovativeness of the business idea
    • Business growth opportunities
    • Internationalisation potential of the business idea

Awards

The winners of the competition will be announced in the finale 24 November 2022 and the three best business ideas will be rewarded.

1.st gets 1200€, 2nd 500€ and 3rd 300€. Our sponsor for the competition is Oma Savings Bank.

Please note that the prizes are taxable income for the recipients. The evaluation panel has the right to change the total amount of the prizes for justified reasons.

 

Immaterial rights 

The industrial- and ownership rights for the competition ideas are the property of the applicant. The organizer of the competition does not take ownership of the submitted ideas. Ideas submitted to the competition will be treated confidentially at all stages of the competition. The finalists commit on making a video that will be publicly presented at the finale. Otherwise, finnish law will be respected in the competition.

Data protection

The data protection of the persons participating in the competition is well taken care of. Read more about the privacy practices of the organizing organizations: The Privacy Notice of the South Eastern Finlands University of Applied Sciences XAMK can be found here

 

_______________________________

we offer also COACHING!

You can get coaching for your business idea from The Third Wave of Entrepreneurship project (XAMK). You can get coaching from the RDI specialists of The Third Wave of Entrepreneurship project; Johanna Koponen, Elina Pöllänen, Henna Suortti and also IPR specialist Minna Pasila. Here you can find Teams links to our optional coaching sessions:

• • Welcome to our coaching 27.9. 2022 at 13:00-14:00. Join our Teams meeting here
  • Passed coaching sessions:
  • Welcome to our coaching 1.9. 2022 at 10:00-11:00.
  • Welcome to our coaching 24.5. 2022 at 08:00-09:00.
  • Welcome to our coaching 16.6. 2022 at 17:00-18:00.

 

You can ask for help in further developing and commercializing your idea from business services in your area, or development companies. The service is free of charge.

The Business Idea Competition 2022 is part of the The Third Wave of Entrepreneurship project that gets funding from the Europian Social Fund trough South Savos Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment. The competition is organized together with Esedu Vocational College of South-Savo, Samiedu Vocational College of South-Savo, 4h Mikkeli and STEP-education.

We reserve the right to make changes.

 

More information from

The third wave of entrepreneurship -project 

henna.suortti@xamk.fi / 050 467 7013

           johanna.koponen@xamk.fi / 040 487 5111

elina.pollanen@xamk.fi / 040 1447 150