2019 Student Entrepreneurship Competition

Competition terms and conditions

1. All entrants must be Open University students resident in the UK and currently studying at undergraduate or postgraduate level, or have graduated on or after 26 January 2017 at undergraduate level or above. Submissions can be made by individuals or groups.
2. Employees of The Open University are not eligible to enter.
3. Entrants must own at least 50% of the business in question.
4. Professors or members of staff must not have any share in the business or business idea.
5. All entrants are required to ensure that they own, or have sufficient permission to use, any intellectual property that is or will be used by the business or as part of the business idea. Entrants will be responsible for any consequences or losses that arise as a result of the business using intellectual property without permission. The Open University will not accept responsibility for any such consequences or losses.
6. All applicants must be at least 18 years old.
7. At least one member of the business must be available for the 2nd round presentation on Friday 22 March 2019 and for the awards ceremony (date to be advised). The Open University reserve the right to remove entries from the competition if this condition is not met.
8. By taking part in the competition entrants agree that they will participate in any associated media activities and provide their consent and authorisation for the use of any marketing materials obtained during the competition.
9. While The Open University will use its reasonable efforts to respect and protect any clearly labelled confidential information that is provided by entrants, the nature of the competition means that The Open University cannot guarantee to maintain confidentiality and cannot be responsible for any confidential information that is submitted. Entrants should exercise their discretion when deciding what information to provide to The Open University.
10. Any personal data relating to the winners or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party (other than Santander) without the applicant’s prior consent.
11. The Open University reserves the right to withdraw any submission to the competition at any time if it is found to be in breach of any of the pre-established conditions and/or rules laid out in this document.
12. The judges' decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
13. The use of or reference to The Open University by entrants for commercial or promotional purposes is prohibited unless The Open University has provided prior written consent.
14. The names of the winners will be available on request by contacting RAS-student-programmes@open.ac.uk.
15. Prize money will be paid in the form of a cheque in the name of the winning entrant.
16. No responsibility can be accepted for submissions that are delayed or not received by The Open University for whatever reason.
17. The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.
18. By participating in this competition entrants are indicating their agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.

Data protection statement

The Open University is the Data Controller.  By participating in this competition your data will be used by The Open University in accordance with the competition programme, structure, judging process and relevant press activities as laid out in this document. We may contact you in the 12 months after the competition closes in relation to the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction survey and if you are a winner, any marketing communications purposes. We believe that these purposes are justified on the basis of our legitimate interest in running the competition. Your data will be held for five years. You have the right to opt out of your personal data being processed for these purposes at any time and will be withdrawn from the competition.  

If you have any questions about how the university processes your personal information in relation to this competition or you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact RAS-student-programmes@open.ac.uk. To receive a copy of the personal information held about you, please contact data-protection@open.ac.uk.

Please confirm you have read and agree to the terms and conditions of the competition.