Australian eChallenge

Australian eChallenge

Where careers and ideas take flight

Innovation is shaping the future of every industry. The eChallenge course gives you a safe but ambitious space to practise these skills: testing possibilities, working with diverse peers, and learning how to deliver solutions that stand up in the real world.

You don’t have to arrive with a business idea - many participants join simply to broaden their career options or push themselves beyond the classroom. Others bring early concepts to refine, or come ready to take the leap into building their first venture. Wherever you’re starting from, eChallenge provides the structure, mentors and industry connections to help you move forward.

Pathways through eChallenge

Accelerate your career

Accelerate your career

Build skills that employers value everywhere: creativity, teamwork, stakeholder engagement, clear communication, and the confidence to apply new ideas in professional settings.

Grow an early-stage idea

Grow an early-stage idea

Already exploring a concept? Use eChallenge to validate it with customers, refine your model, and sharpen your pathway forward with structured feedback.

Build your first venture

Build your first venture

Ready to go further? Learn how to take an idea through experimentation and prototyping, then pitch it convincingly to judges, investors and future collaborators.

  • Practical, work-integrated experience: apply classroom learning to authentic, industry-connected challenges.
  • Mentorship and networks: connect with professionals, founders, and experienced entrepreneurs.
  • Transferable innovation skills: problem framing, customer insight, prototyping, business modelling, and pitching.
  • Confidence and credibility: present your ideas with impact to audiences that matter.
  • Tangible outcomes: walk away with a validated problem/solution story, a lightweight prototype, and a pitch deck you can showcase in job applications or to future investors.

For more than two decades, eChallenge has been a launchpad for thousands of students, professionals and entrepreneurs.

15,000+ participants

15,000+ participants

Since its inception, eChallenge has engaged more than 15,000 students, professionals and entrepreneurs worldwide.

Over 1500 ventures shaped

Over 1500 ventures shaped

From tech start-ups to community projects, eChallenge has helped ideas grow into real ventures since 2001.

$3.7m in prizes awarded

$3.7m in prizes awarded

With the support of our sponsors, over $3.5 million in prizes and resources has been awarded to help ambitious teams take their ideas further.

Global mentor network

Global mentor network

Participants gain direct access to experienced entrepreneurs, business leaders and international industry experts.

Behind the scenes, eChallenge is shaped by the RITE framework - a practical cycle based on design thinking. It guides how you’ll explore opportunities, create solutions, and bring them to life.

RITE Framework: Relate > Innovate > Test > Expand

Relate

Explore opportunities and connect with people. Practise empathy, collaboration and problem-finding — skills valued in every workplace.

Innovate

Work with others to design creative concepts that add value in business, community or career contexts.

Test

Experiment, gather feedback, and refine your ideas with real-world input to build confidence and clarity.

Expand

Communicate with impact and showcase your solution, demonstrating how it can grow — in your career, your organisation, or as a venture.

Specialised workshops

Specialised workshops

Interactive sessions led by academic staff and industry professionals, supported by online resources, readings and templates to keep you progressing.

Meet your mentor

Meet your mentor

Connect with multiple mentors at our Mentor Speed Dating event. Build relationships and gain targeted advice from people who’ve done it before.

Venture showcase

Venture showcase

Test your early concepts with live feedback from business leaders, alumni, and the public. Use these insights to refine your approach.

Semi-finals pitch

Semi-finals pitch

Present your venture to a panel of judges, who provide feedback on opportunity, market, advantage and team capability.

Final judging & Awards ceremony

Final judging & Awards ceremony

Celebrate the best ideas in front of entrepreneurs, investors, and University and government leaders. Winners are announced at a high-profile event, capping off the eChallenge experience.

Awards & prizes

Awards & prizes

What makes eChallenge unique is the recognition and support offered to standout teams. Each year, prizes and awards celebrate the most promising ideas - providing not only visibility but also practical support to help those teams take their next step.

We’re proud to offer some of the most significant kick-start resources in the country, giving ambitious participants the confidence and capacity to turn their concepts into reality.

Who can take part

Undergraduates

For credit where eligible.

Enrol in eChallenge (BUSI 1005)

Postgraduates

For credit where eligible.

Enrol in eChallenge (Advanced) (BUSI 6037)

HDR/PhD students, staff, and the general public

To join via the open.

Register your interest

Partner with eChallenge

The success of eChallenge is built on collaboration. Each year, we work with sponsors, partners and mentors who share our commitment to innovation and future-ready skills.

Sponsors and partners 

By supporting eChallenge, you connect with the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. Opportunities range from event sponsorship to dedicated prize categories – even naming rights for your own award.

Mentors

Our mentors are at the heart of the course. They inspire, guide and challenge participants, drawing on their own industry experience to help shape the next wave of talent.

If you’d like to explore how your organisation or expertise can make an impact, we’d love to have a conversation.

Partner with eChallenge