More than 120 students participated in this competition, run by The Big Issue.
The Big Idea is a social enterprise planning competition between university students around the country. It invites students to develop a concept and business plan for a social enterprise, and potentially change the lives of disadvantaged Australians around the country.
It is the first time the competition has been run at UWA and is collaboration between The McCusker Centre for Citizenship, The Centre for Social Impact and Bloom.
A total of 17 undergraduate student teams entered the Big Idea competition – 5 teams were then shortlisted to pitch their idea for a social enterprise to an expert judging panel.
The winners of the competition were called Community Umpiring Agency; a not for profit social enterprise designed to help disadvantaged young people find work as umpires for local AFL 9’s sports competitions. The purpose of their project is to engage disadvantaged young people with the wider community through a shared passion of sport. The social enterprise aims to provide a supplementary income for people who are having trouble finding permanent employment while also having the added benefit of being good exercise and a positive step towards breaking down social barriers. The winners will compete in the national finals in Melbourne.