Media release
20 June 2013

Enterprising Auckland students make ‘all star’ team

Auckland has maintained its record for producing outstanding young entrepreneurs, contributing half of the six-person ‘all star’ team of Young Enterprise Scheme students selected to take part in the FedEx International Trade Challenge in August.

The New Zealand team – which will take on eight Asia-Pacific countries’ 48 representatives in Hong Kong – was named at the end of an intense competition weekend in which 80 students aged from 16-18 from around New Zealand took part.

Divided into teams, the students were asked to develop a market entry strategy plan to launch an apple-based product into Australia. The students were judged on their market-entry strategies detailing marketing, promotion, pricing, inventory and product distribution plans.

Three Auckland students selected for the New Zealand team are: Emily Virens from Orewa College, and James Pearce and James Rankin from Westlake Boys High.

Also at last weekend’s event, Auckland supplied four of the eight-strong New Zealand YES team which won the Asia-Pacific division of the Global Enterprise Challenge, a 12-hour competition which featured students from 17 countries developing a commercial tourism idea. Team New Zealand’s business was based on diving at a re-established reef at the Rena site in the Bay of Plenty.

The Auckland team members were: Emily He, Macleans College; Jack Hulbert, Kingsway School; Connor Skeens, Westlake Boys High School; and Marieke Vercruyssen, Takapuna
Grammar School.

The YES programme, run across all of Auckland by Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED), encourages year 12 and 13 students to embrace innovation and business by forming a legal company to produce and sell real-life goods and services.

ATEED supported the weekend’s challenge, and ATEED staff – including business development and growth experts – helped mentor an Auckland team.

ATEED Chief Executive Brett O’Riley says the students represent the future of Auckland’s business community: “I congratulate all of the Auckland students on their achievement. It is hugely pleasing to see students of their calibre continue to emerge in Auckland, because they will help drive the region’s growing reputation as an Asia-Pacific innovation hub.”

Along with its strong showing in last weekend’s event, Auckland dominated last year’s national YES awards.

“ATEED is doing its part to make Auckland a place where YES alumni will want to live and develop their business ideas. We continue to grow the region’s innovation ecosystem by leading exciting initiatives such as the Wynyard Quarter Innovation Precinct, a hub for ICT and digital media, which already has its first cornerstone tenant.

“ATEED also collaborates with the region’s tertiary sector and associated world-class research institutes which will no doubt be among the next academic destinations for our YES stars,” says Brett O’Riley.

Before heading to Hong Kong, the New Zealand FedEx International Trade Challenge team will participate in a two-day training workshop at the FedEx facility in Auckland to prepare them for August’s Asia-Pacific regional final.

Photo caption: New Zealand’s team for August’s FedEx International Trade Challenge, left to
right, Emily Virens (Orewa College), Darren Richie, Samantha Scott, James Rankin and James
Pearce (Westlake Boys High School) and Loren McCarthy with FedEx country manager, NZ and
the Pacific Islands, Lee Davies.

Ends

© Scoop Media