Kepnock school graduate Jamie Olsen puts up $3000 in prize money

International entrepreneur Jamie Olsen said it was “about creating an outlet for creative students to build innovative thinking” and empower the region’s future leaders.

More than 12 students turned up for the launch of Kepnock State High School’s 2022 Ingenium Community Based Challenge on Monday, July 18.

The challenge is in its eighth year at the school and aims to provide an entrepreneurial outlet for students with a competitive edge.

The challenge will run across the second semester of 2022 with students given the open-ended task of highlighting an issue in the Bundaberg and greater communities and creating a workable solution.

Year 11 coordinator and program manager Nicole Aime said the Challenge developed lifelong learning and shifted the mindset in students to be more inclusive and community minded.

“The aim is to empower students to develop the future leaders of tomorrow,” she said.

The challenge will be broken into three phases and participating students from Year 7 to Year 12 will have the opportunity to work with the judging panellists throughout.

The judging panel consists of local and interstate entrepreneurs and industry leaders including Amber Lutter the Economic Development Officer at the Bundaberg Regional Council and Dan Massey the Mobile Applications Platform Manager at Ergon Energy.

Jamie Olsen, a 1992 graduate of Kepnock SHS, is also a judge, and has played a key role in the success and development of the program.

Now a successful international entrepreneur, Olsen funds the challenge’s prize money and has put forward $3000 in prize money for the winning students.

Mr Olsen said it was the amazing education that he received at Kepnock SHS that helped build his entrepreneurial mindset and he now had a strong desire to give back to the school and the Bundaberg community.

“It’s about creating an outlet for creative students to build innovative thinking,” he said.

Mr Olsen said the challenge allowed students to think outside the box when it came to their career opportunities after high school and helps develop the skills they need to work for themselves.

“We want to try and build other forms of education like running a start-up, building an app, doing a successful pitch for a company,” he said.

Head of Kepnock SHS humanities department, Darleen Hill, said the program was a great way to develop the start-up landscape for regional students.

“We want to empower our regional students, just because you’re in Bundaberg doesn’t mean you’re limited in your opportunities,” she said.

The opportunities that arise from the challenge are endless with one previous winner now working with Olsen developing and selling Augmented Reality applications to brands and clients.

A second former challenge winner works at the Central Queensland University, developing entrepreneurial initiatives for university students.

The Ingenium Challenge is the crown jewel of the entrepreneurial programs Kepnock SHS runs alongside external programs such as the Mayor’s Telstra Innovation Award.

“Right across Australia our kids are up there in the finalists against other schools.

“Ingenium is one part of a whole that we use to be able to allow opportunities for a range of students,” Ms Hill said.

Principal Nicholas Howkins said all of the entrepreneurial programs, especially the Ingenium Challenge, gave students the chance to build on their passions.

“This is a great opportunity for students from regional Queensland to connect with and be successful in a whole range of business pursuits,” he said.

The winners of the 2022 Ingenium Challenge will be announced in November at the school’s end of year celebrations.