Workshops and Courses
The workshops are governed by the RITE framework, developed along the Design Thinking principles of Relate, Innovate, Test and Expand.
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Ideas and opportunites
This workshop focuses on creativity, idea generation and innovation. Participants will undertake activities to understand how idea generation will facilitate a new venture. It also provides clarity on how to differentiate an idea from a new venture opportunity that has market relevance. This will help to establish the purpose of the new venture for the concerned community.
- How can I generate ideas for new ventures?
- How can I identify whether an idea is a good opportunity to exploit?
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Enterprising mindset and team formation
Participants will learn about proven strategies to develop an enterprising mindset that drives the development of enterprising skills. In this workshop, participants will learn how to leverage the enterprising mindset to overcome barriers during the new venture journey, and what’s required to form a successful team.
- What are the considerations in forming an entrepreneurial team?
- How can my entrepreneurial team harness their strengths for success?
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Needs assessment
Customers who are already using the products and services of the market leaders are a great source of truth to understand the unmet needs of the competitive market. This workshop focuses on understanding your customer needs/jobs/problems in order to carry out an effective market sensing strategy. The new venture progress accelerates when you have new insights about the customers’ pain or gain.
- How can I prepare for an empathy interview?
- How can I conduct an empathy interview?
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Creating value and business modelling
Developing innovative strategies to take away the pain or offer new gains to your customers is instrumental for any new venture. Further, the value offered should be captured back as a revenue, to ensure business sustainability. Developing innovative business models covering both these aspects is the focus of this workshop.
- How can I create value for the customer’s job?
- How can I develop a business model to sustain and grow the new venture?
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Speed dating with mentors
This is an action packed session where the participants are exposed to our pool of seasoned mentors, and get to discuss the start-up journey with someone who has been through the process. After this session, participants are paired with a mentor for the remainder of the program.
- How can I validate the problem and solution, and its timeliness?
- How can I determine the real-world opportunities and threats?
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Prototyping
Using the right enablers accelerates the growth of a new venture. Technology is one of the primary enablers as long as the right technology is used for the right job. This hands-on workshop demonstrates how participants can access a variety of tools, technologies and support to help develop prototypes for their product or service.
- What are the related enabling technologies for my new venture?
- How can I get access to the required skillset?
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Market evaluation
This workshop considers the activities that can be undertaken to determine how the market perceives the solution, and whether the product or service fits the expectations of the market.
- How can I communicate the magic (not the trick) effectively?
- How do I determine my buyer?
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Venture showcase preparation
Participants prepare for the Venture Showcase in this workshop. Participants are given all the information, guidelines and advice needed to ensure they optimally use resources to engage with their prospects. Meeting the buyer early on in the new venture development process ensures an opportunity to address the buyer’s concerns.
- How do I engage with buyers and promoters?
- How do I get the message out, and how do I track conversions?
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Value repositioning
This workshop focuses on how new ventures can be agile and respond to the market, based on the principles of data-driven decision-making. New insights gained during the venture showcase will be used during this workshop to develop action items and determine quick wins.
- How do I synthesize feedback with strategic alignment?
- How do I prioritise and develop an action plan?
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Financing your venture
With the insights gained on building and selling the product/service, being able to present the plan using numbers is important. At the end of the day, investors perceive the new venture as an asset. As such, having the appropriate numbers, developed through a bottom-up approach, increases the legitimacy of the new venture. This workshop outlines how to track, manage and forecast cost structures and revenue streams.
- How do I develop cost structures, taking into account industry benchmarks?
- How do I develop revenue streams, taking into account the competitive landscape?
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Pitching
In this workshop, participants put into action the entrepreneurial paradigm – “I pitch therefore I am”. Not only will participants be taken through a step-by-step process to develop an effective pitch, but they will also be given the opportunity to get feedback on their pitch with follow-up activities. This final workshop prepares participants for their Semifinal pitches.
- How do I develop a credible pitch?
- How do I handle the Q&A of a diversified audience to build credibility?
The eChallenge course
If you are a current University of Adelaide student, you may be eligible to receive academic credit for your participation in the eChallenge.
To qualify you must have room in your degree for an elective and enrol into one of the following courses:
| Undergraduate | eChallenge, Tech eChallenge* |
|---|---|
| Postgraduate | eChallenge, Tech eChallenge* |
The eChallenge course is approved for cross-institutional study. If you are studying at another Australian university you may be eligible to enrol into the course and receive credit from your home institution. You are advised to check with your institution before enrolling.
The eChallenge course is worth 30 CaRST hours for the University of Adelaide MPhil and PhD students.
For non-enrolled students, there is a cost to register for the eChallenge: $500 (incl GST), or $250 (incl GST) for concession card holders. Non-enrolled students will be invoiced in Week 3 of the program.
Collaborate with us
Each year we welcome new sponsorship and partners to the eChallenge and you could even have naming rights over your very own eChallenge prize. Our mentors help inspire and direct our eChallenge participants and we are always on the lookout for new mentors.
If you would like to join the Australian eChallenge as a sponsor, partner or mentor, we welcome a conversation with you.