Bowater Business Challenge
The Deakin Bowater Business Challenge (DBBC) is a fun and exciting competition open to all Deakin business students. A postgraduate challenge is held in Trimester 1 and an undergraduate challenge in Trimester 2.
How it works
As the competition is open to all undergraduate business students, we encourage you to have a diverse team made up of different courses, majors and backgrounds. You can also apply individually and be placed into a team by the organisers.
Registered teams attend a briefing session to understand the challenge and then compete in a preliminary round to demonstrate their innovation and problem-solving skills. Each team will give a 10-minute oral presentation to a judging panel via Zoom. Four teams are then chosen from the preliminary round to participate in the ultimate final. The four finalist teams will be assigned an academic mentor to support them in the lead up to the final submission.
2026 event
T2 undergraduate challenge 2026: tackle an industry challenge for Furphy, a Victorian manufacturing company.
Working in a team of four, you will undertake research and present your findings, with a chance to win from a prize pool of $7,500 sponsored by the Bowater Trust!
Deakin Business School undergraduate students can apply as individuals, or as a team of up to four. Teams comprising less than four members will then have individuals added.
Furphy: Supplier to Strategic Partner – Unlock Growth via Integrated Customer Experience
Develop a commercially viable growth strategy that positions Furphy as a strategic partner rather than a single-service supplier.
Identify opportunities to increase customer value, strengthen customer relationships, encourage cross-divisional collaboration, and unlock sustainable business growth.
Questions? Contact bl-se@deakin.edu.au.
Key dates | Event |
|---|---|
Friday 7 August 10am–2pm | Online briefing session and opportunity for Q+A. |
Monday 10 August | Entries close at 5pm. |
Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 August 2026 | Online preliminary rounds –15 mins per team – 10 min presentation / 5 min Q+A. |
Thursday 10 September 3–6pm | Four finalist teams present in front of audience and judges at Deakin Burwood Corporate Centre. |
Past events
Contact us
If you have any queries about the Bowater Business Challenge please get in touch.
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Emailbl-se@deakin.edu.au