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Thoughts of a Finalist
Dan Donovan, one of the Next Great Innovator finalists from the University of Waterloo, recently blogged about the final events of the challenge.
He offers some great insight on the whole experience, including final presentations and the moment when results were finally announced.
Read his account of the final events here
And The Winners Are…
It's the day after the grand finale in the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge. I have watched this program unfold from the moment the idea was conceived, so it was especially satisfying to witness the culmination at yesterday's events. To all of the talented people at RBC who transformed this concept into reality, I offer my heartfelt thanks. To the students across the country who took on the challenge, I extend my sincere gratitude.
Yesterday began with a breakfast session for students and final judges, including Marty Lippert, Vice Chairman and Group Head, Global Technology & Operations. Teams presented throughout the morning. I sat in on the presentations and was thoroughly impressed. The written submissions were excellent, but the presentations really brought the ideas to life. The judges had tough questions for each team, but they were all handled with poise and aplomb. Undoubtedly, the judges faced a difficult task in determining the final results.
With the presentations behind them, teams headed to lunch at Royal Bank Plaza, where they were joined by the judges after deliberations were complete. Gordon Nixon, President and CEO, RBC Financial Group dropped by to thank the students and congratulate them on their achievement. He also shared his thoughts on innovation in the financial services industry. Over lunch, students also had their first chance to share their winning ideas with fellow finalists.
After some well-deserved free time, students gathered for an evening reception and awards ceremony at the Intercontinental Toronto Centre Hotel. They were joined by nearly one hundred RBC employees from various parts of the organization, all interested in finding out who the Next Great Innovators would be. All in attendance enjoyed some entertainment before the moment of truth arrived. Marty Lippert took to the stage and revealed the final results:
1st Place ($20,000)
W.A.C.C. – University of British Columbia
Dave Rusli, Sherry Chen, Yulichia Ong, John Young
2nd Place ($10,000)
Schulich IMBA '08 – York University
Matthew Cohen, Joshua Dale, Ian Howard, Serge LeVert-Chiasson
3rd Place ($5,000)
Team 5 – University of Ottawa
Jeff Jakab, Peter Howroyd, Vincent Lam
4th Place ($3,000)
The Martlets – McGill University
Mimi Majumder, Carlos Beltran, Côme Frotier de Bagneux, Catherine Lavoie
5th Place ($1,500)
J2D Innovate Inc. – University of Waterloo
Jennifer Yorke, Jas Banwait, Dan Donovan
Congratulations to all of the teams! You did a fantastic job representing yourselves and your schools. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the experience and wish you well in your future endeavours. You have inspired us all with your enthusiasm and dedication to innovation.
University of British Columbia Makes Final Presentation
The final team has just wrapped up the Q&A session and the presentations are done.
Team W.A.C.C. is made up of four students from the University of British Columbia. All team members are pursuing their undergraduate degree at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. Their majors are Accounting, Management Information Systems, Marketing and Finance with some members majoring in more than one discipline.
UBC’s team chose to focus its strategy on personalization to help teens better manage their savings. The team developed a plan that includes providing unique and targeted services for teenagers to allow them more independence and freedom as they learn to be responsible with their finances.
All the teams have presented diverse, innovative and creative ideas. The presentations have gone well and the Q&A sessions have generated some great discussions.
Later this evening, RBC will announce the final order for the top five teams, including the name of the team that walks away with the grand prize of $20,000. Prizes are being presented at an awards ceremony at the Intercontinental Hotel in Toronto. It should be interesting to see the judges’ selection.
Check back later for the order of the final five at http://www.rbc.com/newsroom/links.html.
York University Finishes Up
Well, the presentations have resumed and the fourth team is just finishing up.
York University's team, Schulich IMBA ’08, consists of four students currently completing their International Master of Business Administration (IMBA) at York University’s Schulich School of Business. Within the IMBA program, their areas of specialty include leadership in not-for-profit management, entrepreneurship and strategy, sustainable business and finance.
According to the Schulich School of Business team, today’s teens rely heavily on technology for receiving most of their information. In response to this finding, the team’s strategy for the project recommended that organizations reach out to young consumers through new media channels in creative and innovative ways. The team did well and had some interesting ideas.
McGill University Completes Presentation
The Martlets, a team of four students from McGill University, have completed their presentation. All team members are 2008 candidates for their Master of Business Administration degree at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management.
The Martlets developed a proposal that recommended creating a unique service not currently offered by any financial services organization. The service will meet the security needs of today’s teens and their assets. It will be customizable, scalable and easily assessable to all RBC clients.
So far, we’ve seen three presentations and are now taking a short break. Check back later for the last two presentations.
University of Waterloo Wraps Up
University of Waterloo’s J2D Innovate Inc. just completed their presentation. This team is made up of three students all currently completing their Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) degree. All will graduate in 2007.
For their proposal, the team’s research indicated that today’s teenagers spend most of their time online. J2D Innovate Inc. proposed that RBC use a virtual environment to allow teens to test their financial knowledge and apply their financial decisions to real life banking choices.
University of Ottawa First to Present
Well, the presentations for the top five teams are underway.
Team 5, made up of three students from the University of Ottawa, just came out of the presentation room. All team members are currently taking their Master of Business Administration through University of Ottawa's School of Management and are candidates for 2007 graduation.
They had an interesting idea, as it focuses on not only the younger generation but also their parents. According to the team’s research findings, today’s teenagers need guidance about their own financial decisions. This insight helped Team 5 shape their innovative idea for RBC. The team proposed that programs targeted at teens also involve parents to help provide the necessary guidance required for teens to make appropriate financial decisions.
The next team will be presenting shortly. Check back for updates.
Final Presentations Set to Begin
The top five teams in the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge are in Toronto today to present their proposals to the final judging panel, made up of senior RBC executives and chaired by Marty Lippert, Vice-Chairman and Group Head, Global Technology & Operations.
The teams arrived yesterday and once settled in their hotel rooms, RBC and the teams headed to the Innovation Centre at the Ontario Science Centre, where the teams were challenged in a fun environment.
At the Science Centre, RBC and the teams had dinner and were joined by Olympians Lori Dupuis and Bernard Luttmer. Lori and Bernard shared their stories, signed autographs and took photos with the teams.
To end the evening, teams participated in a few team building activities, giving them the opportunity to get to know the other teams in a fun and interactive way.
Final presentations are just a few moments away. I will be posting some info about each team immediately after they present, so check back for updates over the next few hours.
Announcing the Finalists
February was a busy and exciting month for RBC Applied Innovation. My colleagues and I enthusiastically pored over submissions in the Next Great Innovator Challenge, looking for fifteen entries that merited a second evaluation by the RBC Innovation Council. Shortly after the process began, it became clear that this would not be a simple task. One submission after another, I was thoroughly impressed with the insight and creativity being displayed.
Naturally, some entries impressed more than others. However, there were a few observations that applied to the whole:
Teams provided evidence to back up their claims about teen influence. Almost without fail, entrants provided a wealth of data to support their claims about today's teens. It was clear that a significant amount of research had been performed in order to shape and guide the subsequent ideas. In some cases, teams supplemented third-party data with primary research of their own.
Ideas were as diverse as the number of entries themselves. There were some recurring themes in the descriptions of teen influence on the financial services industry, but this is where most of the similarity ended. It was fascinating to see the diversity of ideas presented, even among teams that shared similar views about the group in question. I found it remarkable that such a vast range of solutions could emerge from similar needs or insights.
Despite pushing the envelope, entrants had solid implementation plans. When we began planning the Next Great Innovator Challenge, I worried about a potential Catch-22 situation – the most innovative ideas might be difficult to implement, while the most feasible ideas might be less than innovative. As it turned out, the submitted ideas truly push the envelope of financial services, yet the implementation plans illustrate that they are not far-fetched at all.
As you might imagine, the range of entries sparked some healthy debate during the first round of evaluation. In the end, fifteen entries were selected and presented to the RBC Innovation Council. Council members considered the submissions carefully and further narrowed the field to five finalists. So without further delay, I am happy to announce the five finalists, in no particular order:
Finalists in the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge
Team Name - School
W.A.C.K. – University of British Columbia
J2D Innovation – University of Waterloo
Schulich IMBA '06 – York University
Group 5 – University of Ottawa
The Martlets – McGill University
Finalists have already been contacted and are currently preparing for final presentations and judging, which will take place in Toronto on the morning of March 27, 2007. Later that evening, RBC will announce the order of finish, including the name of the team that walks away with the grand prize of $20,000.
At this time, I would like to thank and congratulate all of the teams that submitted a final proposal. You should be extremely proud of your work. I sincerely hope you found the experience to be both entertaining and instructive. RBC is certainly grateful for the dedication and enthusiasm you put into this project.
Best of luck in your studies and future endeavours. If your work in this challenge is any indication, I am sure you will be innovating for a long time to come.
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The Innovator Blog is your inside source for advice and guidance on the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge™.
Recent Posts
- Thoughts of a Finalist
- And The Winners Are…
- University of British Columbia Makes Final Presentation
- York University Finishes Up
- McGill University Completes Presentation
- University of Waterloo Wraps Up
- University of Ottawa First to Present
- Final Presentations Set to Begin
- Announcing the Finalists
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