Competition Rules
Competitions Rules
1. Eligibility
1.1 All staff and students at all levels of education and from any department, registered with the University of Coventry for the year 2007/2008, are eligible to enter. This includes visiting and exchange students.
1.2 Other people that do not meet requirement 1.1 may join or form teams, provided that at least one principal team member meets requirement 1.1. For the business creation competition, it is understood that the winning team would, upon incorporation, have at least one member meeting requirement 1.1 as a director.
1.3 The President of Coventry University Entrepreneurs may not enter the competitions during tenure as President. There are no restrictions for all other CUE committee members or organisers other than as stated in rules 1.1 and 1.2, as they will not have access to confidential information regarding the competition. This rule supersedes rules 1.1 and 1.2.
1.4 Competitors are encouraged to seek the involvement of faculty members, past winners, postdoctoral researchers and other staff. Multidisciplinary teams tend to do best. However, there are no restrictions on the size or composition of your competition team.
1.5 Teams that have already secured arrangements for capital from any source must disclose the amounts and sources clearly in their entries. Example sources of capital include cash generated from sales revenues or contracts, research grants and personal or family funds.
1.6 Entries must describe an entirely new business. Projects within existing businesses are not eligible for entry, nor are executive summaries of already existing companies.
2. Entry Fee
2.1 There is no entry fee for entering Phase 0.
2.2 The entry fee for Phase 1 is £10 per executive summary. Winners and runners-up from Phase 0 are exempt from paying this fee.
2.3 The entry fee for Phase 2 is £20 per business plan. Winners and runners-up from Phase 1 are exempt from paying this fee.
2.4 Teams submitting multiple entries will be charged multiple entry fees.
2.5 Payment will be made online as part of the submission process by the deadlines for entry.
2.6 The entry process will not be complete without payment or exemption code.
2.7 Payments are valid only for the competitions in 2007/2008 and are not transferable to future CUE competitions.
3. Content
3.1 All entries must be the original work of the entrants.
3.2 All entries must be factual.
3.3 Entries should be made with full understanding of University regulations on Intellectual Property Rights. It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure that no third party, such as a research sponsor or another member of the University who participated in your research, has any rights on the idea which may prevent its exploitation. Proprietary information about the idea should not be disclosed in the public summary (see rules 4.4 and 5.4.4), posters, or presentations, as this information will be published.
4. Phase 0: £100 Challenge
4.1 Entries should be submitted online at www.cue.org.uk before 11.59pm on Monday 22 October 2007.
4.2 Entries may be no more than 100 words in length. They may be circulated via press releases and CUE competition publications for promotional purposes.
5. Phase 1: £1k Challenge
5.1 Entries should be submitted online at www.cue.org.uk. Online submission of entry forms and executive summaries may be made up to 11.59pm on 12 December 2007.
5.2 Hard copies of the signed Disclaimer and Non-Disclosure Agreement must be received at the UMS address below before 5.00pm on 12 December 2023 for the entry to be valid.
Coventry University Entrepreneurs
Institute for Manufacturing
Coventry CB2 1RX
5.3 Executive summaries should be a maximum of 1500 words including text in tables. The number of diagrams is not limited. The document should be sized to print out on A4 paper. Keep in mind that the judges appreciate brevity and clarity.
5.4 A public summary of no more than 100 words will be required as part of the submission. It may be circulated via press releases and CUE competition publications for promotional purposes.
5.5 Posters will be required from each team for a rotating public exhibition and future CUE events. Posters should be supplied in electronic form and be suitable for printing on size A1 paper.
5.6 No entries will be accepted after 12 December 2007.
5.7 Content beyond the 1500-word limit for the executive summary and the 100-word limit for the public summary will be disregarded.
5.8 Incomplete submissions with missing documents, incomplete fields or missing signatures will be rejected.
6. Phase 2: £5k Challenge
6.1 It is recommended that entrants obtain a letter from an appropriate authority within their department, e.g. the Head of Research or Supervisor, confirming that they know a business plan has been submitted in relation to the idea.
6.2 Entrants wishing to be considered for the CleanTech or Social Awards need to clearly demonstrate the social and/or environmental purpose of their venture in addition to the traditional business plan headings.
6.3 Phase 2-a
6.3.1 Entries should be submitted online at www.cue.org.uk. Online submission of entry forms and executive summaries, complete with market research and competitor analyses, may be made up to 11.59pm on 22 February 2008.
6.3.2 Executive summaries, complete with market research and competitor analyses, should be a maximum of 3500 words including all text, graphics and appendices. The number of diagrams is not limited. The document should be sized to print out on A4 paper. Keep in mind that the judges appreciate brevity and clarity.
6.3.3 A public summary of no more than 100 words will be required as part of the submission. It will be circulated via press releases and CUE competition publications for promotional purposes.
6.3.4 No entries will be accepted after 22 February 2008.
6.3.5 Content beyond the 3500 word limit for the executive summary and the 100 word limit for the public summary will be disregarded.
6.3.6 Incomplete submissions with missing documents, incomplete fields or missing signatures will be rejected.
6.4 Phase 2-b
6.4.1 Only the finalists announced at the Finalists’ Dinner will be required to submit full business plans and posters.
6.4.2 Entries should be submitted online at www.cue.org.uk. Online submission of entry forms and full business plans may be made up to 11.59pm on 28 April 2008.
6.4.3 Full business plans should be no more than 40 pages, including all text, graphics and appendices. Any pages exceeding the limit will be disregarded by the judges.
6.4.4 Posters will be required from each finalist team for public exhibition at The Final in 2008 and future CUE events. Posters should be supplied in electronic form and be suitable for printing on size A1 paper.
6.4.5 Further details on Phase 2-b will be given to the finalists after the Finalists’ Dinner.
6.5 Finalists’ Judging Presentations
6.5.1 Each finalist team will be asked to present to the judging panel for no more than 10 minutes, followed by a 5-minute question-and-answer session. The main purpose of this session is to clarify issues that arise from the full business plan and presentation. It is also a good opportunity for teams to convince the judges that they will be able to meet and surpass their business goals and challenges.
6.5.2 No AV equipment may be used for these presentations.
7. Judging
7.1 The judging panels of all of the competitions are appointed by Coventry Enterprise and include experienced entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. They are highly experienced and respected members of the wider entrepreneurial community and are under the supervision of the Coventry Enterprise Judging Coordinator to ensure the impartiality of judging.
7.2 The judging panel reserves the right to disqualify any entry that, in its opinion, violates the spirit of the competition.
7.3 Judging feedback will be provided for each entry.
7.4 Judging criteria are available in this booklet and online at www.cue.org.uk.
7.5 Judging decisions are final and not subject to appeal.
8. Prizes
8.1 The prize money awarded to the winning teams must be claimed in instalments linked to agreed milestones in creating the business.
8.2 The winners will have the opportunity to pitch on stage to a panel of business angels and early-stage investors for cash from the CUE Angel Prize Fund and investment funding. CUE raises the Angel Prize Fund during the year.
8.3 Sponsored services, such as free patent filings, may also be awarded to Phase 1 and Phase 2 winners.
9. Entry Confidentiality
9.1 All judges with access to the entries will sign a non-disclosure agreement. A copy of the agreement is available at www.cue.org.uk.
9.2 A qualified mentor may be provided to Phase 2 finalists. With consent, entries may be shared with prospective mentors who will formally agree to a non-disclosure agreement as described in 10.2 below.
9.3 With consent, Phase 2 finalists’ entries may also be shared with prospective investors, including the panel of business angels and early-stage investors for The Final in 2008, who will formally agree to a non-disclosure agreement as described in 10.2 below.
10. Intellectual Property Protection
10.1 Coventry University Entrepreneurs, its sponsors and the organisers of the business ideas and creation competitions have taken reasonable measures to ensure the confidentiality of your entries.
10.2 The sponsors of CUE and the judges of the competitions include organisations and individuals that work with entrepreneurs and invest in their ideas. Sponsors, judges and mentors will agree to a confidentiality agreement which extends for 12 months after the public announcement of the competition winners. Copies of these confidentiality agreements are available from the Coventry Enterprise Judging Coordinator.
10.3 Coventry University Entrepreneurs cannot, and will not, take further responsibility to protect the intellectual property or other rights of the entrants.
10.4 The protection of intellectual property or other rights of the entrants is the ultimate responsibility of each entrant. Entrants are urged to mark as “confidential” any portion of their entries that they consider to be confidential. Entrants should be careful about disclosing any patentable concepts in the entries.
10.5 Entrants looking to incorporate are strongly advised to seek professional advice on the issues surrounding Intellectual Property Rights. A list of organisations known to Coventry Enterprise is available on request.
