In parallel with the 10th International Conference of Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, the university will host the Entrepreneurship Forum, an open platform to all undergraduates across Sri Lanka. Aligned with the conference theme, “Synergizing Humanities and Technology for Shaping the Future,” this forum aims to foster a new generation of entrepreneurs who can creatively blend technological innovation with human-centred thinking. The event will feature top entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and investors as its audience. Entrepreneurship Forum offers the inspiration and exposure to turn ideas into action while aligning with the broader mission of shaping a better future through interdisciplinary collaboration.
ELIGIBILITY
The competition is open to all undergraduate students from universities and higher education institutes recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Sri Lanka.
Participants must have active enrollments as undergraduates at one of the eligible institutions and can take part in this event as individuals or teams. A team shall comprise a maximum of five members.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The concepts, products or services, which are hereinafter collectively referred to as products, proposed and presented by the participants in the competition should be new and original. If it is a product or technology that is presented, it must have been originated in year 2022 or later.
If there is already a business or company associated with the product proposed in the competition, it should be at its early stages of equity financing ("pre-seed" or "seed").
The sum of equity shares of all third-party investors involved should not exceed 25% at the time of the event.
Participants may include information on any patents or scientific publications relevant to the business in the application.
By submitting the application for the competition, all participants agree to comply with the Code of Ethics developed by the University Business Linkage Cell (UBLC) of SUSL on intellectual property rights. Those who breach this contract will be immediately disqualified from the competition.
The Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka reserves the right to eliminate the participants from the competition at any stage of the competition if the conditions above are not met by the participants.
Code of Ethics: SUSL IP Policy
HOW TO APPLY
Applications opened on 15th August 2025 to 15th September 2025
Prospective participants of the event should submit their application online to gain preliminary access to the competition.
Duly completed applications will be reviewed by a panel of experts and the applicants will be notified of acceptance into the competition.
COMPETITION
STEP 1
Once admitted into the competition, the participants will be asked to submit a short video (no longer than five minutes) briefly describing the intended product/ business for organisers to determine if it would fit the standards of the competition.
STEP 2
Those who progress further in the competition then will get an opportunity to work with our communications expert to improve the intended pitch.
STEP 3
Top 20 participants then will be invited for the exhibition of the product/ business idea, which will be held parallel to the 10th International Conference of Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. The top 5 participants will be invited to deliver the final pitch (of no longer than three minutes with additional time to answer questions from the panel) to a panel of judges comprising investors, venture capitalists, industry giants, academics, and general audience.
STEP 4
Successful businesses/ products/ services may be offered funding opportunities by investors in the panel to move ahead, and mentoring and guidance from UBLC.
STEP 5
Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three businesses/ products(🥇75000 LKR, 🥈60000 LKR and 🥉 50000 LKR respectively) as evaluated and selected separately by the judging panel (other two finalists will receive 25000 LKR each). Other selected entrepreneurs will be recognized with certificates awarded by the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.
EVALUATION
The panel of judges may consider, but not limited to, how the following factors and issues relevant to the proposed business/ product/ service are discussed, presented, clarified and defended during the exhibition for evaluation.
- The product description and the intended problem to solve
- Competing products and companies, and product comparison.
- Current product development stage
- Prospective developments to the product
- Market research statistics
- Timeline of key stages of the business
- Overall efficiency and effectiveness of the pitch
- Prospective product unit price and anticipated profit margin
- Business model of the startup
- Live demonstration of product or proof of product functionality
- Current distribution of equity among current investors if any
- Reliability of the product and revenue model, and risks involved
- Authenticity of the product, participants and pitch
The panel of judges will make decisions on the evaluation and assessment criteria employed and results of the competition.
DISCLAIMER
The Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka:
Shall not held liable for the dissemination of the material presented and shared by participants during the competition to a third party.
Will not move to discourage or disallow the dissemination of material presented and shared by participants during the competition to a third party.
Waives the right to ownership of the intellectual property of the material disseminated during the competition, hence shall not be held liable for infringement of intellectual property rights of participants by a third party.
COPYRIGHTS
Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka will own the copyright to all audio and visual media, and creative work of the event. It also reserves the right to record such media of the participants subjected to verbal consent by the participants and publish them in its sole discretion.