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Eligibility
- Teams must have at least one active member who is currently a degree-candidate student of the Higher Colleges of Technology.
- Team members must be either a current degree-candidate or a certified alumni of the Higher Colleges of Technology.
- A degree-candidate student must serve as the team leader.
- There is no limit to the maximum or minimum number of people on each team. Individual students may enter. An individual may participate on more than one team and/or submit more than one proposal.
- An existing business is only eligible if - prior to 20th December - it has received less than $50,000 in funding and has earned less than $100,000 in gross revenue. All submitted materials must be the original work of the participating team.
Acceptable Business Plans
Conventional and non-conventional plans are eligible for the competition, including, but not limited to:
- New business
- Merger or acquisition, including leveraged buyouts, which will lead to a turnaround, roll-up, or some other significant change that adds value to the current business
- Joint, alliance or network-based business (e.g., create new entity from current enterprises)
- Licensing arrangements
- Search funds
Note that all businesses are judged based on the same criteria.
The CERT|Wharton EPIC Organizing Committee reserves the right to reject any business plan for reasons including, but not limited to:
- Deemed to be in violation of the rules.
- Violates any emirate or national law
- Appears to be pornographic in nature
- Does not present sufficient content or material appropriate to send to judges for evaluation and feedback.
Confidentiality
CERT|Wharton EPIC honors the confidentiality of all participants' business concepts and plans. Business concepts, overviews and plans will not be copied for any purposes other than use in CERT|Wharton EPIC. The judges also recognize the sensitivity of the materials being presented. Moreover, CERT|Wharton EPIC specifically prohibits:
- Utilizing for commercial gain any material provided to CERT|Wharton specifically and restrictively for educational purposes without prior permission of the provider.
As members of CERT|Wharton EPIC, all participants, judges, and committee members should consider themselves bound by this code.
This business plan is confidential and is presented solely for the purpose of evaluation in the Competition. This plan may not be reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part. By accepting a copy of this plan, the recipient agrees not to reproduce or disclose the contents of this plan to third parties without the prior written consent of its authors.
If a team does not want certain firms or individuals to judge their business plan because the team has invested in potential competitors, please forward that request to the CERT|Wharton EPIC Organizing Committee and they will consider it.
General questions or concerns regarding confidentiality should be addressed to the CERT|Wharton EPIC Organizing Committee. Other
All participants will be registered to receive a subscription to Knowledge@Wharton Arabic edition.
Judges and Mentors
The CERT|Wharton EPIC Organizing Committee will publicize the names and associations of all judges and mentors who participate at the Finals. The CERT|Wharton EPIC Organizing Committee will not, however, provide contact information for individual judges. The Organizing Committee will not reveal the identity of judges that read any particular plan unless the judge specifically requests an opportunity to contact the students who submitted the plan.
No participant may under any circumstances attempt to contact a judge during or before the competition. Any such behavior will result in the disqualification of the participant and his/her team from CERT|Wharton EPIC.
No judge will sit on more than one evaluation section. Hence, if a judge reviews plans in the initial submission, that judge will not review plans in the finals. CERT|Wharton EPIC believes that it is critical to ensure a fresh set of perspectives at each phase of the judging process. This policy is also essential in order to guard against any conflicts of interest that could emerge if judges had preexisting relationships with student participants.
Participants who have any questions regarding potential conflicts of interest for any judges at any stage of CERT|Wharton EPIC should address them immediately to the CERT|Wharton EPIC Organizing Committee.
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