Fourth-year Carleton engineering students Curtis Parks and Chris Polowick took home the top prize of $5,000 in the 2011 Nicol Entrepreneurial Awards March 29.
Parks and Polowick beat out over 450 students from 14 participating Canadian universities to take home top prize, said a press release.
Polowick said the inspiration for their idea came from their experience working for Defense Research and Development Canada.
“We worked with a lot of unmanned vehicles, and we realized they were safer than helicopter surveillance. They can be a lot cheaper and collect more data. A diamond company approached us looking for UAVs to do wildlife surveys,” Polowick said.
He added that the competition started back in January and that he and Parks “learned about the money side of things” and were especially thankful to the business advice provided by individuals from the Sprott School of Business.
Designed to develop student’s entrepreneurial skills, this competition gives participants an opportunity to present their ideas and business plans, according to the press release.
“It taught us how to prove to people that we can make money [from] this idea,” Polowick said. Parks said even if they do not pursue this specific business, the skills they have learned are applicable elsewhere.
They had the opportunity to meet many influential people, including the CEOs of corporations. “We learned how to properly present the information investors are looking for,” Parks said. The pair are hoping to pursue the idea but have a lot of advice to work through. “We’ve been drinking through a fire hose the past couple days, and getting a lot of advice.”