Student entrepreneurs getting their startup off the ground

The Palaszczuk Government will work with Texas-based entrepreneurial experts 3 Day Startup (3DS) to provide university students on the Gold Coast, Rockhampton and Townsville with better opportunities to progress their startup ideas.

Griffith University Gold Coast will hold the 3DS program on 2-4 June, Central Queensland University in Rockhampton on 9-11 June, and James Cook University’s Townsville Campus on 16-18 June.

Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy Leeanne Enoch said students will participate in events to build their entrepreneurial skills – giving them a unique, competitive edge.

“This Advance Queensland initiative is about getting university students more engaged in entrepreneurship where they will progress through a series of modules, including ideation, teams, customer discovery, rapid prototyping and pitch workshops,” Ms Enoch said.

“The 3 Day Startup program was founded by a group of university students who saw a need to deliver an approach that meets the demands of the real world as everyone at one stage in their life will engage with entrepreneurship."

3DS is based in the startup hub of Austin, Texas and has extensive experience running over 300 programs in more than 30 countries.

The Palaszczuk Government has an agreement in place with 3DS and has partnered with a range of Queensland universities to deliver this program to their students in 2016 and 2017.

“World-class universities such as Harvard, MIT, Edinburgh and some of Israel’s top colleges have run programs in partnership with 3DS and it’s really exciting that we’re able to offer this program through Queensland universities,” Ms Enoch said.

Griffith University Innovation Manager Hunter Walkenhorst said last year’s 3DS program enabled young student entrepreneurs to participate in an intense startup program.

“Students were broken up into six teams to come up with a business idea, refine it, structure it and even find potential customers by hitting the streets and interviewing as many local Gold Coast customers as possible,” Mr Walkenhorst said.

“More than 100 applications were received from students located across our five Griffith campuses and they were from a range of disciplines including arts, business, IT engineering, social work, health and science – indicating a real appetite for entrepreneurial education.

“The digital economy is providing entrepreneurs with incredible platforms to start and grow their enterprises, removing many of the barriers to entry. There has never been a better time to start a business than right now."

Advance Queensland is the Palaszczuk Government’s $405 million whole-of-government initiative focused on harnessing innovation and turning ideas into action.

ENDS

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