Rules
SUSSED! is UCD’s €10K Entrepreneurship Competition designed to showcase the energy and ideas emerging from our university. It is open to all UCD undergraduates, postgraduates and early-stage researchers.
Note: As the overall winner of the SUSSED! competition will be selected to go forward to the Europe-wide UNICA Entrepreneurship Competition for Students and Young Researchers. Any submission to SUSSED! must also meet the rules and guidelines of the UNICA competition.
UCD has endeavoured to make the rules of the SUSSED! competition consistent with those of the UNICA competition, but cannot be held responsible for subsequent changes to the latter rules or interpretations of them adopted by UNICA.
The following rules apply to the SUSSED! competition:
- Each participant must be a team of at least two people. There is no maximum limit to the size of the team.
- Each team member must be either a current UCD undergraduate, a current UCD postgraduate student, an early-stage researcher at UCD (e.g. post-doc) or any other person provided they have completed their formal studies within the last 5 years.
- The majority members of each participating team must be current undergraduate students, postgraduate students or early-stage researchers at UCD. The remaining team members may be drawn from outside UCD but they must meet the early-stage criterion (i.e., be within 5 years of completing studies).
- The determination of eligibility shall be at the sole discretion of the Judging Panel.
- Each participating team undertakes to enter the UNICA competition and to be available to travel to participate in the competition and to attend the UNICA General Assembly in Université Pierre & Marie Cure in Paris, November 6th 2009, if it wins first place in the SUSSED! competition.
- UCD will fund approved travel, accommodation and reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for up-to three team members from the winning team (i.e., 1st place) of the SUSSED! competition, should they be short-listed to attend the finals of the UNICA Entrepreneurship Competition.
- A full application to the SUSSED! competition consists of a completed Application Form and a completed Business Plan.
- Applications must be received by email or hand delivery or post to Ms Caroline Gill, NovaUCD, Belfield Innovation Park, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4, e: caroline.gill@ucd.ie on or before 5pm on May 15th, 2009.
- All short-listed participants must attend and present at the “Dragons’ Den” stage of the competition, details of which will be given to the short-listed participants.
- The UCD Vice-President for Innovation and Director of NovaUCD will decide on the number and constituents of the Judging Panel for the competition.
- The Judging Panel will be a mixture of experienced entrepreneurs, academics and industry representatives from diverse sectors.
- Judges will sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement in respect of all of the business plans reviewed.
- The decision of the SUSSED! Judging Panel at all stages of the Competition shall be final and binding and no communication will be entertained by the Judging Panel. To qualify for the “Dragons’ Den” round, that judgement will be made on the basis of the advertised assessment criteria. The winners will be decided based on the assessment criteria, and also on the quality and content of the “Dragons’ Den” presentation and the team’s performance in all aspects of the “Dragons’ Den” stage. Ethical issues, environmental and social impact may also be taken into account.
- It is the responsibility of each participating team to ensure that they own/have a right to us the inventions, copyright and other intellectual property comprised in all aspects of the business idea reflected in the business plan, and that the disclosure/use of this intellectual property for the purposes of the competition is not in violation of any constraints/rules imposed by any funding agency, research partners involved the research from which the plan emerged, or any other third party. Failure to ensure the foregoing shall, at the Judging Panel’s or UCD’s discretion, result in disqualification from the Competition.
- Prize monies won in the Competition are to be used exclusively for costs associated with establishing a new venture.
- The three prizes of six months free desk space at NovaUCD, will be accommodation only. Variable costs (phones etc) must be met by the prize-winners.
March 4th 2009
