About OIC

The Ottawa Innovation Challenge (OIC) is a community initiative developed and lead by participants of OCRI TalentBridge that brings together talented post secondary students, recent graduates and industry leaders, in a weekend-long business competition where students will have the opportunity to showcase their creativity and entrepreneurship skills. During the challenge, tech entrepreneurs and industry leaders will present strategic challenges to teams of Ottawa’s top talent, and the participant teams will then have 48 hours to propose and develop a solution that will address the problem.

Its an opportunity to build relationships between students, industry partners, and Ottawa universities and colleges.  We believe that by working together, we can build a community of young entrepreneurs in Ottawa.

As the initiative is still being developed, we are actively seeking partners to help us grow – both at an enterprise and personal level. If interested to join OIC, please send a quick note to either Sonia Riahi at: riahi.sonia@gmail.com or Manu Sharma at: msharma@ocri.ca

The Ottawa Innovation Challenge was conceived in a TalentBridge discussion on how to encourage and energise youth entrepreneurship in Ottawa.

OIC – 2 Days, GO !!!!

Date: Friday April 23rd to Sunday April 25th 2010

Competition Time: From 5:00 pm  April 23rd to 5:00 pm April 25th 2010

Presentation Time: Presentations and judging will take place at the Final Reception, Sunday April 25th from 5:30 pm-8:00 pm

Location: Ottawa City Hall at 110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 1J1

Registration Fee: $20

Who we’re looking for: Highly motivated students or recent grads who see themselves as problems solvers.  They must be comfortable working in a diverse team and must have a keen interest in entrepreneurship.

The setup: Four companies each present a challenge that is presently pertinent to their start-up.  Individuals will be paired in teams of two and given a particular challenge to work on.  Teams have 48 hours to generate a business solution to the business problem presented by the participating company.

The deliverables:

• A presentation to be delivered to the judging panel outlining the solution of the business problem.
• A short (3-5 pg.) document describing the presented solution in more detail.

Judging: Solutions presented will be judged on feasibility, innovativeness & creativity, quality and completeness.  Winners will be announced at the Final Reception on April 25th.

Prizes:

• Bootstrap Services: Support & guidance from those who built their startups from scratch.
• Professional Services: Hard to access expert advice to help get you started.
• Mentoring and Events: Invitations and cover to the most prized networking events across town.

Are you ready for this?

An intense experience for the entrepreneurially inclined and the problem solver.  48 hours of a real challenge by real startups for a real experience.

Are you ready to be noticed?

Get on a first name basis with the entrepreneur leaders and influencers in town.  Start selling yourself – we’ll give you the chance to. It’s about visibility.

Test your entrepreneurship assumptions

Create a vision

Deliver continuous quality

Be a strong team player

Be pushed out of your comfort zone 

It’s YOUR chance to prove it.  You could win:

Bootstrap Services: Support & guidance from those who built their startups from scratch.
Professional Services: Hard to access expert advice to help get you started.
Mentoring and Events: Invitations to the most prized events across town.

And don’t discount the experience-meeting highly motivated youth, networking with the who’s who and implanting yourself in the start-up community.

Event takes place April 23rd to April 25th 2010 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  Click here for more info.

Eligibility: Student or recent graduate. Entrepreneurially inclined.  Problem Solver. Motivated. Ready for a challenge. Ready for a good time.

Deadline to apply is Monday April 5, 2010.