Okinawa Campus Idea Pitch Contest - Pitch your idea. Win a trip to Paris! / Registration due extended
Date
Location
Description
Okinawa Campus Idea Pitch Contest invites all on-campus innovators - students, researchers, staff - to showcase ideas that can impact the world. Whether you want to launch a startup, solve social issues through research, or organize community events - any ideas are welcome. The preliminary round will be conducted by video judging, and the grand finale will take place at RYULAB on 1st Mar, 2024 from 2-5pm. Finally, the maximum top 3 ideas will win an all-expenses paid trip to Paris to attend the 2024 Hello Tomorrow Global Summit - the world’s leading tech and science conference.
This is a great opportunity to hone your ability to deliver your ideas to the world and also to experience the world's most cutting-edge ideas. We are looking forward to receiving many entries from those of you who want to bring your idea to the world.
Q&A:
Here is a list of Q&A for the questions we received till now.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
|
Can I include other people to prepare the pitch? |
Yes! but... Collaborating on preparing for the pitch and having support during the video is absolutely fine. However, the presenter during the pitch should be solely you. Additionally, the prize is awarded to one individual per pitch. |
|
Is it okay to pitch idea which is not related to my research at OIST? |
No problem! Any ideas are welcome and it doesn’t need to be related to your research or project at OIST. |
|
Will the pitch content be kept confidential? |
No. The contents will be shared with judges outside of OIST, and the final pitch contest will be held openly at the University of Ryukyus. Please refrain from including information that you wish to keep confidential. Given the 3-minute duration, presentations about your technology need not delve deeply into technical specifics. We recommend you to focus on presenting the concept, its potential global impact, and its feasibility. For more details, refer to the judging criteria below. |
Eligibility:
- Students, faculty, staff, and researchers over 18 years old who belong to a university in Okinawa Prefecture.
- Those who can participate in the grand finale to be held at Ryuky Lab on March 1, 2024 if selected as finalists.
- Those who can participate in the study tour to Paris in March 2024 and the debriefing session to be held after their return if they win the grand finale.
Theme:
Ideas that you would like to deliver to the world. Not only entrepreneurial ideas, but also research themes, ideas for joint research with companies, projects to solve social issues, personal events, and any other ideas are acceptable.
Judging Points:
- Excitement: Assessing the allure and enjoyment of the idea.
- Innovation: Evaluating the originality and uniqueness of the concept.
- Impact: Measuring the potential influence the idea may have on the targeted issue or need.
- Global Perspective: Determining whether the idea holds value not only for Japan and Okinawa but also for the global community.
- Motivation and Enthusiasm: Gauging the degree to which the presentation conveys passion and enthusiasm for the idea.
- Presentation Skills: Evaluating the effectiveness of presentation skills, Q&A sessions, and the quality of presentation materials.
Pitch Format:
- Language: English
- Duration: 3 minutes
- Projected materials may be used. Use of materials is optional.
Participation Fee:
Free. However please bear your own expenses for internet and transportation cost related to the entry, as well as expenses for obtaining passports and visas for participation in overseas tours and personal expenses.
Judging Committee Members for Grand Finale:
| Name | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Lauren Ha | Associate Vice President for Technology Development and Innovation, OIST | |
| Koshu Kunii | General Partner, Lifetime Ventures | |
| Yoichi Aso | CEO, Alpha Drive Corporation / Visiting Professor, University of the Ryukyus | |
| Takashi Ishikawa | Professor, Faculty of International and Regional Development, University of the Ryukyus |
About the overseas visit:
- Destination: The world's largest Deep Tech startup event "hello tomorrow GLOBAL SUMMIT 2024" (Global Summit - Hello Tomorrow (hello-tomorrow.org)) to be held in France.
- Dates: 4 days including the 2 days of the conference (March 21-22, 2024) and travel days.
- Cost: Round-trip airfare and accommodation will be covered by the secretariat. The secretariat will cover the cost of round-trip airfare and accommodation.
- If you need a visa to travel to France, please make your own arrangements.
- Details regarding the overseas tour will be provided to those who are selected to participate in the competition.
Registration due:
January 14, 2024 (Sun.) 11:59 pm
Extended to January 21, 2024 (Sun.) 11:59 pm
Organizers:
OIST Innovation, STARTUP LAB RYUDAI (RYULAB)
Contact:
miki.takashina@oist.jp
How to register:
Please fill out the form below and submit. Upon receipt, we will provide instructions on how to submit your video pitch for preliminary evaluation. If you haven't received the email within 30 minutes of submitting the form, please reach out to miki.takashina@oist.jp for assistance.
By submitting the above form, you agree to the following;
This event is organized by STARTUP LAB RYUDAI (hereinafter referred to as "RYULAB") and OIST Innovation. RYULAB is jointly operated by the University of the Ryukyus and the Okinawa IT Innovation Strategy Center (hereinafter referred to as "ISCO"). The University of the Ryukyus, ISCO, and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University School (hereinafter referred to as "OIST") will do their utmost to respect and protect your privacy in accordance with laws concerning the protection of personal information. Personal information collected will be used by the University of the Ryukyus, ISCO, and OIST for the following purposes. We will not provide your personal information to any third party without your consent.
- To respond to event applications
- To manage event applicants
- To contact you regarding events, etc.
- To provide information on commissioned businesses, services, and products.
- To respond to inquiries about the event and to contact you.
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