Bring your bright ideas to life in the 2025 postgraduate Bowater Business Challenge!
Attention postgraduate Business and Law students! Want to develop your problem-solving skills, employability and industry networks? Then the Deakin Bowater Business Challenge (DBBC) is for you!
Working in teams of four, students will research and develop a presentation on the future of a selected industry.
This year’s theme is: ‘Optimise real estate efficiency: create a strategic pitch for IBM’s B2B client’.
The Bowater Trust is kindly providing a $7500 prize pool:
- first prize: $3000
- second prize: $2000
- third prize: $1500
- fourth prize: $1000.
Interested? Here’s how it works
Eligibility
The DBBC is open to all postgraduate Business and Law students enrolled for Trimester 1 2025.
You can enter as a team of up to four people or as an individual. If any groups don’t have the required four members, we’ll assign individual entrants to those teams.
Timeline
- Thursday 3 April, 2–4pm: Briefing session via Zoom (ID: 865 2231 4406; Password: 35576447). IBM Representatives and Deakin academics will present and be available to answer questions teams may have.
- Friday 4 April: Briefing session recording will be made available to student who register for challenge up until 14 April.
- Monday 14 April, 5pm: Entries close for individual and team entries.
- Wednesday 16 April: Teams announced on rolling basis (where possible) and all teams confirmed by 16 April.
- Monday 28 OR Tuesday 29 April, 1–4pm: Registered teams compete in the virtual Preliminary Round, where a University panel will rank each team’s 10-minute presentation.
- Wednesday 30 April: Four finals teams announced and assigned an academic mentor.
- Tuesday 13 May, 4:45–8pm: Challenge Final in person at Burwood Campus.
Remember: winning teams will score cash prizes and you might even impress a potential employer!
Applications and more information
Hurry – applications close on Monday 14 April. Apply online now.
Need more info or have a question? Email bl-se@deakin.edu.au or visit the Deakin Bowater Business Challenge webpage.