Christchurch students, teachers and their supporters gathered at the University of Canterbury on Tuesday night for the annual Regional Awards evening as part of the Canterbury Young Enterprise Scheme. The evening marked the end of the YES year for the Canterbury students, who have worked hard throughout the year to establish a business and develop a product or service.
St. Thomas of Canterbury team Romulus were the overall regional winners for the year, which will see them travelling to Wellington for the National Awards Competition and Gala Dinner on the 5 December. Romulus have been crafting white pine and kauri breadboards made by individuals from the youth unit at Rolleston Prison, and are sold by Canterbury Cheesemongers, Dragonfly Cafe and Gifts in Rolleston and the Tai Tapu Cafe.
Rangi Ruru team Flatpack Farming were the runners-up with their storage utility pack designed for the back of quadbikes. They were also awarded the Science Alice Innovation Award and YES Coordinator Award for Business Practice awards and, in a surprise announcement decided only days before the Awards evening, will join Romulus in Wellington for the National Awards where they are nominated for an Excellence award.
Jacob Hughes-Hutton from Hagley Community College was awarded the College of Business and Economics Canterbury YES Scholarship, a $5000 scholarship awarded every year by the University of Canterbury towards a YES student’s first year of tertiary education at the university.
Judith Tatom, the Canterbury Young Enterprise Scheme Coordinator from CORE Education, enjoyed being able to celebrate the students’ achievements with other participants and their supporters. “It has been hard work for many of these students, and it’s great to be able to reward those who have put in so much time and effort throughout the year,” Ms. Tatom said.
“From presenting their business model at the Dragons’ Den in June, to making business connections and spending Saturday mornings selling their product at the local farmers market, many of the teams have shown dedication and skills that they will no doubt help take with them into the future,” Ms. Tatom added.
Full list of winners
About CORE Education
CORE Education is a not-for-profit professional learning and development, research and educational thought leadership organisation. CORE has preferred provider status with the Ministry of Education.