The Swinburne Ignite: Young Entrepreneurs Cup is an entrepreneurship competition empowering Year 10 -12 students to turn bold ideas into real-world solutions.

Working in teams, students are guided by academics within our School of Business, Law and Entrepreneurship to identify a genuine problem and design an innovative, ethical and viable business or social enterprise. Along the way, the students will gain practical experience in entrepreneurship, critical thinking, collaboration and pitching, supported by Swinburne academics, industry mentors and online workshops.

The competition culminates in The Summit, an on-campus showcase at Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus, where finalist teams pitch their ideas and celebrate their achievements.

  • Express interest: Friday 1 May (Term 2)

  • Online information session: Tuesday 12 May (Term 2)

  • Competition period: from mid-Term 2 to the end of Term 3

  • Student learning: Online masterclass sessions and an on-campus day The Summit at Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus in September
     

Please note: Dates are indicative and will be confirmed with registered schools.

Why should your school participate?

Future-proof your students, aligned with curriculum

The competition complements classroom learning by reinforcing entrepreneurship, enterprise capability, employability skills, and real-world business thinking.

Meaningful benefits

The top 5 finalist teams gain credit for the core first-year Bachelor of Business unit BUS10015 Creative Mindset and Entrepreneurship at Swinburne saving them more than $2000 in tuition fees and accelerating completion of their degree.

Guided experience

Simply register interest and we will invite you to an information session to provide you with further details. We will provide the competition content, workshops, mentoring, judging and events!

Curriculum alignment

The competition is designed to support student learning outcomes across key Victorian curriculum areas:

  • Year 10 Economics and Business: Students explore how businesses create and maintain competitive advantage, including entrepreneurship, marketing and public relations (VC2HE10K05).

  • VCE Business Management (Units 1 & 2): Strong links to planning and establishing a business, market research, business models, and decision-making.

  • VCE Industry and Enterprise: Development of enterprise capabilities, work-related skills, teamwork, communication and employability skills, reinforced through mentoring and pitching.
     

Why should students participate?

  • Practical experience in entrepreneurship, critical thinking, collaboration and pitching
  • Continued mentoring and support from Swinburne Entrepreneurship team post-competition
  • Certificate of participation for all teams
  • Credit for BUS10015 Creative Mindset and Entrepreneurship (top 5 finalist teams)

Frequently asked questions

The competition is open to Year 10 -12 students enrolled in Victorian secondary schools. Students participate in teams of 3 - 5, with multiple teams per school welcomed. Students do not register themselves; the school will register the students once a team/s is formed following the online information session. We will guide you through this process.

We will require each team to have a Swinburne Ignite School Program Coordinator. This person (or people) will need to:

  • Attend an online information session on Tuesday 12 May 2026
  • Act as the primary contact between Swinburne and the student team/s at your school
  • Coordinate with the student teams on a fortnightly basis to ensure all is on track

Please note that Swinburne Ignite School Program Coordinators are not required to deliver competition content.

No. Participation is free for schools and students. 

Should transport be a barrier to attending The Summit in September at the Swinburne Hawthorn campus, please contact us to discuss options.

If you’re a student interested in participating, please share this page with a teacher at your school and ask them to express interest, or have them email schoolprograms@swin.edu.au.

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