March 7, 2014

Students solve real world business problems as part of iUnivative programme

Seven teams of UOW students presented their solutions to real world business problems as part of the Careers Central iUnivative Program on 28 February. 

A total of 40 students took part in the program, which is designed to be a crash course for students in how to find real solutions to real business challenges to improve business performance. 

This year, the iUnivative program partnered with Kiama Council to help local Kiama businesses capitalise on the availability of the region’s National Broadband Network (NBN) to solve local business challenges.    

Students held regular meetings with their Kiama ‘clients’, Droppoint, Burnett Trees and Kiama Council throughout the duration of the program to ensure the solutions they were developing were tailored to suit their client’s business needs.  

The seven teams presented their solutions at an event at The Pavilion in Kiama on Friday 28 February. Each team’s solution was judged against a range of criteria, including innovation, usability and understanding of the organisation’s needs and budgetary constraints. The winning teams were announced at a reception that was opened by the Deputy Mayor of Kiama Neil Reilly. 

All three participating organisations, Droppoint, Burnett Trees and Kiama Council commented that their expectations had been exceeded by the professional solutions presented by each team. 

Coordinator of the iUnivative Program and HDR Careers Counsellor Sarah Ryan said: “Working with real business issues and local organisations enables students to gain first-hand knowledge and experience in working as a team with professional and established businesses. UOW students faced the challenge of becoming a working team, to use their research skills, subject knowledge and problem solving skills to deliver recommendations for the organisations – all in a short timeframe of four weeks.” 

Kiama Council’s Economic Development Manager, Megan Hutchison, said: “Kiama Council has worked closely with local businesses to assist them to optimise the benefits of having NBN access. The iUnivative program is one such initiative that has given local businesses innovative solutions to business problems by utilising digital technology. We are thrilled that our businesses have had access to teams of motivated students from a diverse range of disciplines and backgrounds, from which they have benefitted greatly.”