Industry Venture Challenge
Kickstart your professional development
Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone with an undergraduate industry placement but not sure where to start?
Completing an industry placement is one of the most critical steps to increasing your employability. The Industry Venture Challenge takes you outside the conventional classroom and provides the opportunity to embed your learning within industry, providing a unique opportunity to invest in your future career.
In this 6-week program, undergraduate students form interdisciplinary consultancy teams to solve real challenges for a startup business. Students present their findings, create an implementation plan and receive feedback from industry supervisors and mentors.
The benefits
- Develop 21st century employability skills
- Get real industry experience
- Expand social and professional connections during face to face events
- Access supervision and support as you apply theory to practice
- Develop your entrepreneurial mindset, and gain access to professional tools and materials
- Complete your 100 hour placement requirement online
Participating in the Industry Venture Challenge will enable you to boost your self-confidence, your professional connections and your in-demand industry skills, preparing you to become work ready.
Please note: The Industry Venture Challenge is open to undergraduate students only. If you are a Masters student, you will not be able to apply for the challenge or enrol into LTU3IND which is an undergraduate subject.
Student requirements
To complete the Industry Venture Challenge and get the most out of your learning experience, you will need to:
- Attend a face-to-face induction session
- Commit to 100 placement hours across the 6-week Industry Venture Challenge (approx. 2 days per week)
- Attend and actively contribute towards team, client and mentor meetings
- Complete a team project report with implementation plan, presented at a client pitch event
- Complete the academic assessments for Industry Placement subject LTU3IND
How it works
Once you have met the subject pre-requisites, you’ll submit an online application, selecting the ‘Industry Venture Challenge’ option and enrol into the 15-credit point Industry Placement Elective subject LTU3IND. You’ll undertake The Industry Venture Challenge as your 100-hour industry placement component. You’ll also complete subject assessment requirements as you set goals and reflect on your placement experiences.
As you work in your consultancy teams, you'll complete your placement hours remotely, however, your face-to-face induction and presentation skills workshop provide you with opportunities to attend fun networking events and to meet with mentors, clients and other fellow students doing the challenge.
You will have the opportunity to develop real life presentation skills at a face-to-face Pitch Day with free lunch, cash prizes and the chance to pitch to a panel of industry judges.
Please note: The Industry Venture Challenge is open to undergraduate students only. If you are a Masters student, you will not be able to apply for the challenge or enrol into LTU3IND which is an undergraduate subject.
Key Dates
Activity | Dates | Format |
|---|---|---|
Subject commencement LTU3IND online briefing covering assessment and what to expect | Wednesday 6 March | Online |
Industry Venture Challenge Discovery session A brief online session to cover details of the program and requirements | Thursday 7 March (12.00pm - 12.30pm) | Online |
Online application submission | Thursday 7 March (5.00pm) | Online |
Induction day | Thursday 14 March (10.00am - 4.00pm) | La Trobe Bundoora campus John Scott Meeting House |
Online placement commences | Monday 18 March | Online |
Coaching week commences | Monday 8 April | Online |
Online placement concludes | Friday 3 May | Online |
Pitching day Pitching, lunch, celebration and networking event | Thursday 9 May | La Trobe Bundoora campus John Scott Meeting House |
Final assessments due and subject conclusion | Friday 31 May | Online |
How to apply
Applying is easy!
1. The Industry Venture Challenge is a placement option, undertaken as part of the 100-hour industry placement elective subject, LTU3IND. So please make sure you are eligible to do LTU3IND and that you have space in your degree.
2. Complete the online application form.
3. You can then self enrol into the elective subject LTU3IND. For information on how to enrol via Student Online, follow these steps.
The Industry Venture Challenge Team will get in touch with you to confirm any next steps and key dates. But you can also find them above!
Find out more
Find out more about the Industry Venture Challenge.
For further information about an application submission for the Industry Venture Challenge, please email: IVC@latrobe.edu.au
Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQs
What will I get out of the Industry Venture Challenge?
You will benefit from working in diverse and multidisciplinary consultancy teams, developing your transferable employability skills around collaboration, negotiation, communication, problem solving, time management and pitching. The Industry Venture Challenge will enable you to boost your self-confidence, connections and in demand industry skills to help you become work ready and equip you with the steppingstones to your next chapter.
You’ll also connect with like-minded students, have fun, develop your problem solving and creative thinking skills, gain industry connections, learn how to pitch and present, win prizes and so much more! At the end of the challenge, you’ll also be rewarded with a digital badge for your effort!
Most importantly, you will have fun whilst you are learning (we’re very much into the fun factor at the face-to-face events!) and you have the chance to not only receive an Industry Placement Bursary, but also to walk away with cold hard cash for your efforts!
What kind of organisations will I work with?
The client organisations will vary in size and industry. The organisations you will be working with will present and introduce the relevant information during the face-to-face Induction Day. This will be your opportunity to find out more about the organisation you’ll be working with and to form your consultancy teams.
Example clients and projects
Client | Project |
City of Melbourne | Student teams were tasked with researching the future of retail, dining and entertainment expenditure by tertiary students in order to identify business opportunities and navigate change in a post-pandemic world. Included analysis of changes in people's shopping behaviour and a comparison of the popularity of precincts within the municipality. |
Department of Land, Water and Planning | The Forest and Fire Assets Branch tasked student teams with completing a product and service analysis. This involved research into the future of their Flight Dispatch System, a gap analysis with recommendations for improvements and prioritisation and a project plan to explore potential developments in aviation services. |
BrainSTEM | Student teams were required to develop a new social media strategy for BrainSTEM, providing recommendations for content strategy and key messages, a content calendar, an outline of key deliverables and research into best practice across comparable organisations. |
Is this real industry experience?
Yes. You will work with real industry clients who have industry-related challenges! These industry partners are keen to work with university students so they can tap into fresh ideas and perspectives to solve these challenges. You will have the benefit of working with other students in consultancy teams to brainstorm ideas and solutions, whilst you have the full support of your Industry Client Supervisor/s, your Academic Supervisor (LTU3IND Subject Coordinator) and the clients themselves.
Am I eligible for a placement bursary or financial support for travel?
Industry Placement Bursary
Yes! La Trobe University is supporting students who have commenced a placement by offering an Industry Placement bursary of up to $2500! Make sure you check out the eligibility and application requirements for the Industry Placement Bursary.
- You are enrolled at one of La Trobe’s regional campuses (Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Mildura or Shepparton)
- You have a regional address/ postcode within 100 km of one of our regional campuses (Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Mildura or Shepparton)
If you are enrolled at a regional campus but live in a regional postcode area beyond the 100km radius of our regional campuses, we will cover accommodation costs at the university’s student residences, but you will need to pay for your own travel to and from Melbourne.
- Accommodation for Bendigo/ Shepparton students (night of event).
- Accommodation for AW/ Mildura students, or students from beyond the 100km radius of our regional campuses (night before event and night of event).
Please note: if you would like to access this support and for the team to book/pay for accommodation at La Trobe student residences, you must advice the team 1 week prior to either the Induction Day or Pitching Day.
Deadlines for accommodation requests:
- Induction Day - 5pm Friday 8 March
- Pitching Day - 5pm Friday 3 May
Email the IVC team a: IVC@latrobe.edu.au
What are the career development benefits?
Program perks | Student outcomes |
Team-based | Work as part of a diverse and multidisciplinary team, giving you the opportunity expand your transferable skill set by collaborating with students from a range of courses. |
Real-world learning | Deliver projects for a real client and get exposure to |
Real outcomes | Provide recommendations to solve real business challenges for your client, presenting these to them in a final report and presentation. |
Scaffolded and supported | Receive three types of support throughout the experience; mentorship from industry, guidance from your placement supervisor, and academic support from your La Trobe Work Based Learning Subject Coordinator. |
Curriculum-based | Connect your learning to specifically designed, for-credit learning tasks through your Work Based Learning subject and its assessments. |
Remote/online | Work with regional, metro, interstate or global clients without being limited by your location. |
Does this count toward Career Ready Advantage?
Yes, once you complete the Industry Venture Challenge and the requirements for LTU3IND, you will be credited with 1 practical experience towards your Career Ready Advantage Award.
Program structure
What is a pitch day?
Be prepared to have some fun! The pitch day will bring together all of the La Trobe students who are doing the Industry Venture Challenge. You will ALL have the chance to win real cash prizes, network with industry experts, develop your professional skills, enjoy a free lunch on us and generally have a blast!
All students who participate in the Industry Venture Challenge will have the opportunity to 'pitch’ their respective challenges and solutions. The day involves each team presenting a 5 minute pitch to a panel consisting of industry experts. More details will be provided in the lead up to the event.
What if I'm not familiar with entrepreneurial skills and pitching?
These kinds of soft skills are highly valuable and applicable to anyone in any industry! But don’t worry, during the Induction Day, we will run you through all of this information.
Do we get to select our own teams?
Due to the expected high volume of student applications, you will be allocated into multi-disciplinary teams to ensure the opportunity for students to work with and learn from students outside of their regular discipline study area.
How much is the prize money?
Each participant of the winning team for the Industry Venture Challenge Live Pitch event, will have the opportunity to win $200 per person. In addition, there will be ‘People’s Choice’ prizes of $100 per person. So that’s a nice bonus that you can win if you strive for success! Students will need to be present at the Live Pitch event to be eligible for the prize money.
Are the placement hours online or face to face?
Your initial briefing prior to the commencement of the program and the 100 placement hours (via the Practera platform), will be conducted online. However, there will be TWO face to face events, one at the beginning (Induction) and another at the end (Pitching Day) of the Industry Venture Challenge where you will come together with fellow students, clients, mentors and Subject Coordinators to mingle and have fun!
What is the time commitment?
Over the 6 week Industry Venture Challenge, you will be required to complete 100 hours which includes your online placement hours and attendance at the face-to-face events (Induction and Pitch days).
What kind of support will I get?
You will have different types of support throughout the Industry Venture Challenge; guidance from your Industry Client Supervisor/s and academic support from your La Trobe LTU3IND Subject Coordinator.
Will there be catering?
For the face-to-face events, participants will be provided with morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea! All event information will be provided in the lead up to the day however you may bring your own snacks if you would like.
Industry Placement subject: LTU3IND
How does LTU3IND relate to the Industry Venture Challenge?
LTU3IND is a university wide Industry Placement subject which has a hurdle requirement of 100 placement hours alongside assessment requirements (like most subjects at La Trobe!). You will undertake the Industry Venture Challenge (via the Practera platform) as the 100 hour placement component of the subject, attend the subject online seminars and complete the subject’s assessment requirements.
Am I eligible for LTU3IND?
You will need to have completed 120 credit points and have availability in your study plan to complete a 15 credit point elective subject. Check your study plan online. If you are unsure about whether you have availability for an elective in your study plan, please contact ASK La Trobe. If you need course advice about enrolling in a placement elective, please check with your Course Coordinator.
How do I apply for LTU3IND?
What activities count towards my 100 hour placement requirement?
Most of your placement hours will be accumulated during your online placement as you work remotely within your consultancy teams. However, when you attend the induction day and the pitch day, these hours will also count towards your 100 placement hours. Therefore, it’s essential that you attend these events if you wish to claim these hours as part of your overall 100 hour requirement.