Startup Pitching Competition

Download contest rules

Do you have a creative idea for a new product, service, or app that can make life better, more fun, more convenient, and more interesting? This is your chance to pitch your idea!

The English Language Center (ELC) is proud to be holding its first-ever university-wide startup pitching competition in the hopes of enhancing students’ speaking skills in business English while giving them the opportunity to pitch their ideas for new products, services, or apps. 

When?

  • Application: October 17th-November 22nd, 2023, I-314 on Taipei campus and Q-502 on Taoyuan campus.
  • Registration Deadline: November 22nd, 2023

Please provide the following: a) The HARD COPY of the description of your new product, service, or app (saved as a WORD file), b) The PowerPoint slides of the new product, service, or app (saved as a PPT file).

  • Contest:

December 1st, 2023 (Friday) 14:30 – 17:00 in M104 on Taoyuan campus (contest venue may change, depending on the number of participating students from each campus)

(If there are fewer than 6 participating groups, the contest will be cancelled. Please be aware of further notification.)

Eligibility

Contestants must be:

  • Current MCU students (undergraduate or graduate).

Contest Rules

  1. HOW MANY MEMBERS PER GROUP: Contestants must sign up in groups of 3 to 5 people, and each contestant may only participate and compete in one group in the contest. For each group, a maximum of 1-2 members can be either a DAE or an IC student. Please note that having a DAE or IC student in the group is optional.
  2. HOW TO SUBMIT THE WORD FILE: Submit the word document containing the description of your new product, service, or app by the deadline. Please follow the format (see Rule 3). Any submission not done according to the format will result in automatic disqualification.
  3. WHAT IS THE FORMAT: For the word document, please make sure you include the English names, Chinese names (if applicable), student ID numbers, and contact numbers of everyone in the group. Please indicate which member is the English or IC student (if any). In the same word document, briefly describe your new product, service, or app, and talk about how it can make life better in general. The word count for the word file must fall between 130 and 180 words. (Please use font size of 12, Times New Roman font, single-spaced lines, set the margin to 1 cm on all sides)
  4. WHEN WILL I KNOW IF I HAVE ADVANCED TO THE NEXT ROUND: Based on the WORD document and the PowerPoint slides, groups that have been shortlisted will advance to the final round. The list of the shortlisted groups will be announced on the ELC website on November 24th, 2023.
  5. WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON THE DAY OF THE CONTEST: On the day of the contest, contestants should be punctual and check-in with their student identification cards. Contestants will be disqualified if they fail to show up at the venue after 3 calls when it is their turn to present the pitch.
  6. HOW WILL THE ORDER OF PRESENTATION BE DETERMINED: The order of the contest will be determined randomly by a draw after check-in is completed and will be announced immediately.
  7. HOW MANY SLIDES ARE REQUIRED: For the PowerPoint slides, please make sure you create at least 10 slides. The slides should contain the following information, names of everyone in the group, creative name (of your product, service, or app), description of what your product, service, or app will look like, description of its functions, and how it can contribute to make life better.
  • How will we decide the winners: Grading criteria:
PRESENTATION/ENGLISH STARTUP IDEA
  • PowerPoint slide design 15%
  • Stage presence 30%
  • Content 25%
  • Pronunciation and fluency 30%

TOTAL: 100%
  • Creativity 40%
  • Feasibility of your idea 30%
  • Contribution significance 30%

TOTAL: 100%
  • Time limit:
  1. Each presentation is limited to 5-7 minutes. Five points will be deducted from the total final score for performances that are less than 5 minutes or more than 7 minutes for each minute that is over.
  2. The total score of each group will be ranked from high to low, and the judges will deliberate and announce the winners.

Award

  • First place: NT$10,000 & award certificate
  • Second place: NT$7,000 & award certificate
  • Third place: NT$5,000 & award certificate
  • Honorable Mention(s): NT$2,000 award certificate (The number of honorable mention award recipient will depend on the number of participating groups.)
  • All participating contestants: participation certificate
  • Awards will also be given by industry experts to the group(s) who come up with the product, app, or service that is the most feasible and creative while contributing the most significantly to society.
  • There is a chance that we will find actual investors working in different fields to help transform your ideas into actual products, apps, or services.

Please note:

  1. Make sure that all personal information on the application is correct. Do not participate under false name.
  2. Any changes made regarding the contest will be announced at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the contest.
  3. Contestants should check-in 30 minutes before the contest starts.
  4. If your idea is good enough, we might ask you to pitch to actual investors.
  5. Contact information:
  • Taipei campus: Alison Duh (02)2882-4564 Ext. 2642
  • Taoyuan campus: Ms. Tina Wu (03)350-7001 Ext. 3178