Dec 06 2018

Niigata University students won a semi-grand prize in the student section of the Third Niigata Business Idea Contest ?with Niigata University as a co-organizer and given support from Niigata Prefecture held jointly by Daishi Bank, Niigata Mitsukoshi Isetan and JR East Japan Niigata Branch. This contest is to commercialize business ideas that utilize Niigata's charm and local resources.

The student section invites business ideas from students of universities in Niigata Prefecture, providing the chance to commercialize excellent plans. There were 42 applications from universities in Niigata Prefecture this year; the final selection in which students gave their presentations was held at the Daishi Bank Hall in Daishi Bank's head office on Saturday, November 17.

Six groups from four universities that passed the rigorous screening gave presentation on this day. From Niigata University, two groups from the Faculty of Economics were present at the final selection. The judges, including company owners, judged the final presentations rigidly in a tense atmosphere, but the students confidently explained their business ideas and responded to the judges' questions.

As a result, "Sumbrella", a plan by Team Sumbrella consisting of two students, Mana Yoshimura and Saaya Fukuoka from the Faculty of Economics of Niigata University, won the semi-grand prize. The judges praised their business plan to market the parasols with a drawing by young illustrators from Niigata that depicts Niigata's charm and shows Niigata's regional resources. The prize-winning students said with big smiles on their faces that they were delighted to make their idea heard by a lot of people. Aya Sugano, a student of the Faculty of Economics, also performed solidly to advance to the final selection for two consecutive years.

Niigata University will continue to develop projects, cooperating with industry, finance, government and academia and contribute to the development of the local society.