Future of Remote Work: Supporting Cybersecurity for Canadian Businesses

As we navigate this new world of remote work, how can we protect Canadian businesses from cyber threats?

Challenge Details

STEP 1
IDEATION and DEVELOPMENT:
CREATE IT

January 25-March 5, 2023

Create or join a team consisting of 2-4 students.

The deliverable for this stage includes a 3-5-minute video explaining and demonstrating your prototype and its functionalities. All submissions must be in English and uploaded to the platform by 11:59PM (EST) on March 5, 2023. Teams can also submit any other documents illustrating their idea if they wish to do so. All ideas must be new and never presented before, it is your job to be innovative and bring a fresh idea to the table.

The voting stage will take place between March 6-7. Up to five teams will be selected to participate in the finals. The finalist teams will be notified on the evening of March 7.

 

STEP 2
THE FINAL PITCH: WIN IT

March 27, 2023

Between March 8-26, you will have time to finalize your solution/prototype and prepare a ten-minute presentation (including a short prototype demonstration). The five teams of finalists will have the opportunity to pitch their solutions to the jury at a live virtual event on March 27, 2023. The teams will have the chance to win up to $8,000 cash!

 

Evaluation Criteria

ORIGINALITY & INNOVATION - 30%

Does the project offer an original, innovative approach to addressing the selected problem? Is the project ambitious or creative within the constraints of the challenge timeline? Is this a new idea or has the team used this idea in the past?

TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE - 30%

Does your team make effective and appropriate use of the main features of the selected tools and technologies? Does the team effectively communicate a solution to the challenge?

TEAM DIVERSITY & COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS - 10%

Does your team reflect diversity? Does your team have a complementary skill set that enables you to tackle the different aspects of your project?

IMPACT & FEASIBILTY - 30%

Does the project address a clear need, problem, or opportunity? Does the project fit the problem it addresses? Does the team have a credible plan for implementing their proposed solution and does the solution have a good product/market fit?

 

Eligibility/Rules

  • Must be a Canadian post-secondary student (including abroad) or an international student in a Canadian post-secondary school
  • Teams must be 2-4 people
  • All team members must be currently enrolled in a post-secondary school
    Note: we will require documentation of the above to process any prizing
  • Must not have used this idea in previous pitch events, school projects, grant proposals, etc.