Top three finalists named in international UC challenge

Top three finalists named in international UC challenge

Three ground breaking initiatives that could change the lives of people living in a Filipino community have been announced as finalists in the UC 21 Day International Challenge.

The challenge gave six teams 21 days to create a practical and unique solution to help improve the socio-economic well-being of the people of Barangay Tarong in Carles, Iloilo, a Filipino community hard-hit by typhoon Haiyan in November 2013. Each team comprised five students and five business mentors.

The top three teams’ proposals include a collaborative community project to grow and dehydrate mangos, an agricultural initiative that combines protective cropping and nutritional education, and a project to cultivate native bee hives for organic honey which is supported by the University of the Philippines.

The winning team will be announced tonight during a ceremony that will include the UC students and their business mentors. A seven strong judging panel, which will determine the overall winner, includes Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel and the Philippine Ambassador Virginia Benavidez.

The winning team will visit the community in Barangay Tarong to help the local community implement their concept in the middle of the year. The business leaders in the winning team will have the option to participate in the trip at their own expense.

Challenge manager Associate Professor Sussie Morrish says all the teams worked extremely hard and dedicated their valuable time into putting a business plan together.

“This has been an exciting challenge that brings together students from across all UC faculties. What these teams have put together is amazing. The collective knowledge, skills and insights of the teams prove that when we work cooperatively rather than competitively, the outcome is far superior,” she says.

Professor Morrish says the business mentors had shown solid support to their student teams with some offering to donate resources in addition to the $5000 budget the teams had to work with.

“They have consulted with business and community leaders, talked to our contact person in the Philippines and done a lot of research into the viability of their individual projects and still keeping within the rules of the Challenge,” she says.

ENDS

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