Leave No One Behind is a collaboration between the Monash Sustainable Development Institute and Monash’s five Humanities, Arts and Social Science (HASS) Faculties of Arts, Law, Business, Education and Art, Design and Architecture). The competition is judged by a panel of experts, and the workshops will be led by a variety of industry experts and mentors from both inside and outside of the university.
Leave No One Behind was designed to give our students and alumni an opportunity to harness their skills and expertise to help address issues of disadvantage and make a positive difference in the community.
The workforce is rapidly changing, and skills in innovation and entrepreneurship are essential, not matter what career path you choose.
HASS stands for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, and at Monash, the HASS faculties are
Arts, Law, Business, Education and Art, Design and Architecture (MADA).
Entrepreneurship competitions and programs are often more accessible for students studying science, engineering or medicine. While technological innovation is essential, we believe anyone can be an entrepreneur, and we wanted to create an opportunity for students with training in the HASS disciplines to also be able to harness their skills for positive social impact.
We think social disadvantage requires more than tech solutions, and students with training in the humanities fields are perfectly placed to grapple with the complex issues of equity and disadvantage and come up with creative solutions.
Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus describes a social business as one that is created and designed to address a social problem. It is financially self sustainable with all profits reinvested back into the business in order to increase the social impact (eg: by expanding the business’s reach or improving the products or services). While the purpose of a social business is to generate profit, these profits are used to meet the social mission of the business.
A social business is not a charity. So, it’s not dependent on ongoing financial grants to operate - a social business has a robust and self-sustaining financial basis. It is also different from B-corporations, which typically seek to balance the joint objectives of financial and social or environmental value. Social businesses do not require such trade-offs, as the sole reason for the existence of the company is the delivery of social value.
Teams receive a whole range of state-of-the-art training and support on their entrepreneurship journey. There are face-to-face workshops to support idea development and pitch training, presentations from social entrepreneurs and tailored mentoring from business leaders and social business investors.
All current Monash students and alumni who are completing or have completed a degree from a HASS faculty (Arts, Law, Business, Education and Art, Design and Architecture). It is open to postgraduate and undergraduate students (undergraduates must have completed their first year). Alumni applicants must have graduated from a HASS degree within the last 5 years.
Students from non-HASS faculties are also welcome, but teams must have a majority Monash HASS students or alumni.
Proposals submitted as part of Leave No One Behind should be focused locally, either in Melbourne or Victoria.
Businesses that have already launched or have significant start up funding are not eligible for Leave No One Behind. We’re after new ideas and social innovations to address disadvantage.
If you have an idea in its early stages, or an initiative you’ve started but is not a social business (i.e. doesn’t have a sustainable funding base), Leave No One Behind is for you. If you’re unsure, get in touch with our information team at leavenoonebehind@monash.edu.
Yes you can, but it’s a big commitment, so we recommend sticking with one team.
No, there’s no set size for teams, but we recommend 3-4 people. Think about the skill set you need, and build your team accordingly.
One entry per team. We’re about quality not quantity, so focus on doing one thing well.
Absolutely. Monash graduates from a HASS faculty (Arts, Law, Business, Education and Art, Design and Architecture) who have completed within the last five years are eligible to enter the competition. If you don’t fit this criteria, but can form a team with a majority of people who do, that’s fine too.
No. For now, Leave No One Behind is extra-curricular. However, in 2018 the program will run as a MADA studio, so will be for credit for students enrolled in that course.
No problem. Teams aren’t required to commit to an idea at the registration stage. Between registration and the final pitch, teams have access to a whole range of online and face-to-face support and training to help shape their idea. Being able to adapt and refine your idea based on what you learn along the way is exactly what’s needed.
Confidentiality of intellectual property is going to be a concern for all of those involved, particularly if you see yourself carrying through your concept to market. All IP is owned by the teams, both during and after the competition.
That means that any risks or liabilities associated with IP infringement is the responsibility of teams too. It might be worth drawing up a contract or agreement before kicking off to smooth out any questions you might have with team-mates about ownership and IP.
Absolutely. Monash will maintain the confidentiality of your proposals and business ideas throughout and after the competition, although we will have to share the proposals with the judges.
We haven’t identified any specific target communities - any business idea that helps address an issue of disadvantage or inequity in the community is okay by us.
During the competition, all business ideas, proposals, submissions and teams will remain confidential. At the conclusion of the competition, Monash may identify the winning teams and ideas for promotion purposes.
The prize money is provided to help teams bring their business to life. The money must be spent to support this overall objective, but we won’t put restrictions on precisely how the money is spent.
Winning teams will be required to provide a report 12 months following the final pitch night outlining how they spent the prize money and where their business is at. Monash takes no equity in the business.