BLACKSBURG (WSLS10)--Â The 7th Annual VT KnowledgeWorks Global Partnership brought students from more than a dozen countries around the world to Blacksburg, showing off their best business ideas.
Here are details on the winners, released from VT KnowledgeWorks:
The grand prize of $25,000 was awarded to Park and Diamond, Inc. of Virginia Tech, USA, which included Jordan Klein and David Hall. Their prize package included the $10,000 Plastics One Advanced Manufacturing Award for the most outstanding tangible product. In addition to that, they were awarded another $15,000; and as a permanent tribute to their success, their name and university will be etched into the base of the Global Challenge Trophy, which will reside at VT KnowledgeWorks in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. Their winning concept was an improved cycling helmet that is ultra portable. Their helmet eliminates bulkiness and the stigma of current bicycle helmets.
The $10,000 VT KnowledgeWorks Information Technology Award for the most outstanding intangible product or service went to Construction Cloud of University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, represented by Hartley Pike, Samuel McDonnell, Tommaso Armstrong, and Jan Schroeder. Construction Cloud lets construction teams function like they have a photographic memory. Construction teams can create a visual timeline of their project from start to finish, keeping all photos and videos stored securely in one place. Accessible by all team members via mobile and web, Construction Cloud saves time, improves team communication and protects companies in disputes. Users have the details remembered for them, so they can get on with building their project on time without headaches. It's like the Instagram and Dropbox for the construction industry – a photo library stored in the cloud.
The People's Choice award of $5,000, sponsored by Virginia Tech's Outreach and International Affairs, was selected by vote of the event attendees at the Global Student Entrepreneurship Challenge. The People's Choice was awarded to eLog, of University of Kent, England, whose business concept aims to use technology to help displaced people across the world fleeing political persecution and war. Refugees use eLog to map their migration and provide evidence of their journey when applying for asylum as well as family records. This revolutionary application speeds up the integration program, helping to settle refugees into their new home.  Cesare Dunker and Rayyan Sorefan presented the concept.