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THE academe and the business community have joined hands to promote business and entrepreneurship among the young in time for the celebration of the Mandaue Business Month this August.
The contest called ?My Business Idol? will showcase business plans submitted by students of different Cebu colleges and universities.
The top three winners will receive investment money from the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and its sponsors.
?The investment money will help the business plan materialize. If they can make it last, we will see that come into play,? said Glenn Anthony Soco, vice president for internal affairs of MCCI in a press conference this week.
The first place winner will receive P50,000 while the remaining two winners will receive P30,000 and P20,000.
?The idea is to really have an interaction between the academe and business community. This is an activity which gives schools and students a chance to present their business plans before a panel,? said Soco, who is also president of Coffee Dream Inc.
Dr. Mary Gretchen Chavez, chairperson of the management division of the University of the Philippines College Cebu, said business and management students from eight schools in Cebu are expected to join the event.
Chavez said she encourages schools to participate in activities like this which ?fills the gap between academe and business.?
?Dr. Alex Delantar of CIT (Cebu Institute of Technology) clearly pointed out during our meeting (of Business Educators Assembly) that there seems to be a divide between the kind of graduates produce by schools and what the industry needs,? she said.
The Business Educators Assembly is an association of deans from the business departments of colleges and universities in Central Visayas.
?This project (My Business Idol) is a first step toward filling that gap. The impact may follow later but this is really a way of making the plans a reality because you will see entrepreneurs investing in the plans,? she told Cebu Daily News.
Chavez said entrepreneurs such as Soco and Ng Khai Development Corp. president Wilson Ng are the event champions and also model entrepreneurs for students.
