Rules | HKGCC Business Case Competition 2022

HKGCC Business Case Competition 2022

(the “Competition”)

COMPETITION RULES

(the “Rules”)

This Competition is organized by the HONG KONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (the “Organizer”) and sponsored by CHAINCHEM GROUP, JARDINE MATHESON, NWS HOLDINGS LIMITED, SINO GROUP and THE SWIRE GROUP (the “Sponsors”).

The aim of these Rules is to set out the terms and conditions governing your participation in the Competition. By registering for this Competition, you are indicating your agreement to be bound by these Rules. If you do not agree with any of these Rules, please do not register for this Competition or submit an entry.

1. TERM¹

This Competition’s application period begins on 12 September 2022 10am HKT and ends on 5 December 2022 11:59:59pm. The Competition will be accessible 24 hours a day on the dedicated Competition website operated by the Organizer at https://www.chamber.org.hk/bcc2022/ (the “Competition website”), subject to possible IT maintenance operations and malfunctions.

2. AGREEING TO THE RULES

Any eligible person who has opened an Account on the Competition website and participates in the Competition (“Participant” or “You”), is required to review and accept these Rules. By accessing and accepting the Rules, You:

(i) enter into a valid and enforceable contractual relationship with the Sponsor regarding your participation in the Competition. and

(ii) fully and unconditionally agree to comply with these Rules. The Participants express their agreement by checking an online box while enrolling in the Competition.

In case of non-compliance with these Rules, the Participant will be immediately disqualified from the Competition and no prize will be awarded.

3. REGISTRATION FOR AND PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPETITION

To take part in the Competition, the Organizer must have received your completed registration by 5 December 2022 11:59:59pm HKT.

To register, the Participant must have first created a user account on the Competition website, and must have truthfully and accurately provided required information, such as full name and email address.

Any registration based on inaccurate, false or incomplete information will result in the Participant’s disqualification. Refusing the collection, recording and use of their personal data that is strictly necessary for the operation of the Competition will result in the Participant’s disqualification. The Participant is solely responsible for the information he/she provides during registration. Any intentional or non-intentional mistake, anomaly or inconsistency regarding such information may result in the Participant’s disqualification. The Organizer and the Sponsor reserve the right to proceed with all necessary verifications regarding the Participant’s identity, postal and email addresses, and other means of communication.

You must accept the Rules, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Notice and Cookie Policy, before creating your user account and registering for the Competition.

Registration for and participation in the Competition is free, with no purchase or payment obligation.

4. ELIGIBILITY

This Competition is open and offered solely to:

Any individual aged at least eighteen (18) years or with full legal capacity, who (i) is currently enrolled at a tertiary institution or (ii) has recently graduated from a tertiary institution based in Hong Kong within a year, with a student card to prove it in either case.

Documents that may confirm the Participant’s eligibility will be required prior to awarding any prizes (e.g. identity document, and student card.).

This Competition is not open to employees and representatives of the Sponsors, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, or members of their families.

5. GOAL OF THE COMPETITION AND PARTICIPATION FORMAT

The goal of the Competition is for Participants to submit proposals (or solutions) meeting the requirements determined by the Sponsor in the Competition brief, in the form of submissions. The brief includes information regarding deadlines, details of the prizes, and Sponsor requirements. (the “Brief”). The Brief is accessible through the Competition website.

Participation in the Competition must be on a team basis.

Teams. Individual Participants have to form a team (“Team”) of 2 to 5 members. Each Team member must accept the Rules, by clicking a hyperlink through the Competition interface. Sponsors may disqualify any Team (and all its members) in the case where any one member does not accept or violates the Rules.

6. SUBMISSIONS

During the Competition, Participants may upload any documents or other materials relating to their proposal to the Competition website in response and as a solution to the Sponsors’ business case stated in the Competition (the “Submission”).

A Team can participate in more than one business case, but can only make ONE Submission to each case.

To be eligible, Submissions must (i) address the specific issue set out in the Brief, (ii) be in a PDF, (iii) be in English, and (iv) comply with the Rules.

If a Submission cannot be downloaded, is not in the right format or is incompatible, illegible, or unintelligible, the Submission will be disqualified.

By submitting a Submission, Participants represent and warrant that:

The Submission comprises exclusively contributions from a Team.
Otherwise, if content from a third party has been used in the development of the Submission, all rights, authorizations and agreements necessary to submit the Submission and grant the rights mentioned herein have been obtained. The existence of uncredited third-party contributions in the Submission will result in the disqualification of the Submission and the related Participants;
No other individual and/or entity is entitled to claim any rights from the use of the Submission; and
The content of the Submission does not and will not infringe or violate any rights of any third party or entity, including, without limitation, intellectual property rights, privacy, competition law, confidentiality, or any contractual or extra-contractual right. All Submissions suspected of violating any law(s) and/or any third party’s right will be ineligible.
Participants are responsible for and shall bear any costs or expenses associated with preparing and submitting a Submission. Participants assume all risk of a damaged, lost, late, incomplete, invalid, incorrect or misdirected Submission.

7. COMPETITION PROCESS

Competition Rounds. The Competition consists of several rounds:

Project Submission: Submissions will be accepted from 14 October 2022 10am HKT to 5 December 2022 11:59:59pm HKT.
Round One (Online vote): From 6 December to 18 December 2022, sponsors may communicate with the Teams to learn more about the Teams’ projects. At the end of this Round, 5 Teams from each Sponsor’s track will be selected to proceed to the Mentoring Phase.
Semi-Final (Mentoring Phase): At this round, mentors from each Sponsor’s track will provide guidance to the semi-final Teams from 19 December 2022 to 8 January 2023 to refine the Submissions.
Final Round: 3 Teams from each Sponsor's track will be selected to enter into the Final Pitching (as defined in the relevant section below) on 13 January 2023.

Submission. If a Participant does not upload a Submission onto the Competition website before the deadline of 5 December 2022 11:59:59 pm HKT, it will be considered as a withdrawal from the Competition and there will be no compensation from the Sponsor.

Selection Criteria. Submissions will be judged according to the Selection Criteria described below. This Competition relies on the Participants’ creativity, capacity, ability, and ingenuity to solve the stated business case. It is a skill-based contest and chance plays no role in the determination of the winner. Under no circumstances are factors such as appearance, religion, membership in a trade union, political opinions or sexual orientation considered during the selection process.

Notification to Participants. Once selection has been completed, Participants will be notified by email, phone, or other means, at the Organizer’s discretion, of the results of each Round. The Sponsor may alter the dates on which results are released should this become necessary due to the number of projects to be assessed and/or other unexpected circumstances.

A. Round One

All Submissions must be received by Sponsor on or before 5 December 2022 11:59:59pm HKT. Submissions must meet the specifications set out in Section 6 above, and include:

A 5 to 10 slide presentation of their Submission produced in PDF format

In Round One, the voting will proceed as follows:

Criteria based voting

"Criteria based" judging will take place from 6 to 18 December 2022.

The judges (Sponsor staff) may evaluate and select the Submissions based on their specific evaluation criteria stated on each Sponsor’s webpage (if available) as well as the following criteria:
Innovation: How innovative is the solution with regard to addressing the problem described in the Brief?
Relevancy: How relevant does the solution respond to the specific issue(s) set out in the Brief?
Feasibility: How feasible is the solution in practice? Will the solution be sustainable over the long term?
Impact: What is the scale of potential social impact of the solution? How significant is the impact?
Clarity: How well is the solution articulated? Except as otherwise provided below, the 5-10 Teams from each Sponsor’s track with the highest score at the end of this round will proceed to the next round.

B. Semi-final (Mentoring Phase)

Mentors (consisting of Sponsor staff) will provide guidance to the semi-final Teams to refine the Submissions from 19 December 2022 to 8 January 2023. The mentoring format can be of any kind of communication, such as face to face meetings, phone calls, online meetings and emails.

Semi-final Teams have to submit their Submissions on or before 8 January 2023 through the Competition online platform.

At the end of this Round, 3 Teams from each Sponsor’s track will be selected to proceed to the Final. Results will be announced via email on 10 January 2023.

C. Final Round

Teams selected to participate in the Final Round on 13 January 2023 will be notified by the Organizer. If a selected Team does not reply after a reasonable number of attempts have been made by the Organizer to contact the Team by email, phone and other means, the Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify this Team. This disqualification shall not entitle the Team and all of its Participants to claim any kind of compensation from the Sponsor. The Final Round consists of a pitching session.

The Final Teams are REQUIRED to upload their final Submission onto the Competition website by 12 January 2023. The Submission should meet the specifications set out in Section 6 and include:

A slide presentation in PDF format to be used for the Final Pitching session, describing the proposal in detail, including the problem it intends to tackle, the proposed solution, its social impact and the business model.

The winners of the Competition will be announced after the Final Pitching on the same day.

8. PRIZES

Prizes are awarded to the winning Teams of the Competition subject to compliance with the following conditions:

The Submissions comply with Section 6 (“Submissions”);
Each Participant of a winning Submission complies with Sections 9 and 11;
It can be proven that the winning Team (and Participants) fulfil the conditions of eligibility stated in Section 4.

No prize will be awarded to winners who do not fulfill the above.

The winner(s) from Chinachem Group’s track will receive the following:

Champion: HKD30,000 for the team + Potential publication of award-winning submission on Chinachem Group website and e-Magazine + Potential meetup with Nina Park team to discuss the solution implementation + Interview invitation for potential internship + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)
1st Runner-up: HKD 20,000 for the team + Interview invitation for potential internship + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)
2nd Runner-up: HKD 10,000 for the team + Interview invitation for potential internship + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)

The winner(s) from Jardine Matheson’s track will receive the following:

Champion: HKD30,000 for the team + Internship in Zung Fu + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)
1st Runner-up: HKD 20,000 for the team + Interview for internship at one of the Jardines businesses + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)
2nd Runner-up: HKD 10,000 for the team + Opportunity to interview for internship at one of the Jardines businesses + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)

The winner(s) from NWS Holdings Limited’s track will receive the following:

Champion: HKD30,000 for the team + Internship + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)
1st Runner-up: HKD 20,000 for the team + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)
2nd Runner-up: HKD 10,000 for the team + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)

The winner(s) from SINO Group’s track will receive the following:

Champion: HKD30,000 for the team + Internship + Interview invitation for potential placement/internship + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)
1st Runner-up: HKD 20,000 for the team + Interview invitation for potential placement/internship + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)
2nd Runner-up: HKD 10,000 for the team + Interview invitation for potential placement/internship + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)

The winner(s) from Swire Group’s track will receive the following:

Champion: HKD30,000 for the team + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)
1st Runner-up: HKD 20,000 for the team + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)
2nd Runner-up: HKD 10,000 for the team + HKGCC Student Associate Membership (1 year)

No assignment or transfer of prizes is allowed by a winner. If a winning Team cannot be reached after a reasonable number of attempts have been made by the Sponsor (as determined by the Sponsor at its sole discretion), the prizes will be considered forfeited by the Team at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. The Sponsor is not responsible for replacing any lost or stolen prizes after being awarded to the winning Teams. The winning Teams will accept the prizes “as it is”. The Sponsor disclaims any warranty in respect of the prizes.

In the event a winning Participant cannot be reached, by email, phone and other means, for more than three (3) months after the first attempt to reach him/her was made, he/she will be deemed as having waived the right to claim the prize and will not be entitled to any prize or any kind of compensation.

If the prize as initially planned is unavailable, the Sponsor will be free to substitute another prize of similar value. Any such decision is at the Sponsor’s sole discretion.

Any Participant who does not fulfil the conditions of participation as provided in the Rules during their registration and/or at any time during the Competition will be summarily disqualified from the Competition without prior notice and will not be entitled to any prize. In the event that a prize is awarded to a winning Team that does not meet the conditions of Participation during registration or throughout the duration of the Competition, the Sponsor reserves the right to require the winning Team to return the awarded prize.

9. COMMUNICATION

The Participant acknowledges and consents that the Sponsor may, throughout Hong Kong and for the duration of the Competition and for a period of one year after the Final Round, use the Competition for publicity, including for the Sponsor’s advertising or other marketing purposes, by any means and through any format (websites, advertising banners, social networks, newsletters, press releases and other means) now known or unknown to date, free of charge or for a consideration.

In particular, the Participant gives his/her consent to the Sponsor for using his/her name and surname, her city and region of residence, the name of the institution in which he/she studies or has obtained his/her diplomas and other biographical information, his/her image, the information regarding the Prize (if he/she is a winner) and any other personal data that he/she submits with the Submission as well as the content of the Submission relating to the Competition.

As an example, Participants consent that the Sponsor can use the photographs taken during the Final and disseminate them via any communication medium. Such use does not entitle the Participant to any payment other than the Prize he/she may have received. The Sponsor agrees to cease using of the aforementioned elements in connection with the Participant at the end of the aforementioned period.

10. CONFIDENTIALITY

The Sponsor has no obligation to keep the information contained in the Submissions confidential. In general terms, when submitting a Submission, the Participants understand, agree and accept that any information contained therein may be publicly disclosed and used by the Sponsor.

If you are a prize winner, the Sponsor may request and require that you execute a confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement for the purpose of entering into negotiations regarding the further development of your proposal, as described in your Submission. Such confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement will be directed to your Submission and all intellectual property that it may contain.

Furthermore, Participants acknowledge that the Sponsor may currently or in the future be developing information internally, or receiving information from other parties, that is similar to the information contained in any of the Submissions. Accordingly, nothing herein shall prohibit the Sponsor from independently acquiring, developing, or having developed products, concepts, systems, services or techniques that are similar to or compete with the products, concepts, systems, services or techniques contemplated by or embodied in any Submission.

Participants recognize that other Participants, individuals or entities may have provided the Sponsor or others, or made public, or may in the future submit or make public, content that is the same or similar to any piece of information contained in any of the Submissions. Hence, Participants acknowledge, agree and accept that the Sponsor shall have the right to use such same or similar materials, and that Participants will not be entitled to any compensation arising from the Sponsor’s use of such materials.

11. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Definitions. For the purposes of this section,

- "Intellectual Property Rights" refers to any copyright or other rights over a brand, a design or a model, a patent and, more generally, any element, (including trade secrets and know how), that may be protected by national and/or international laws or conventions on intellectual property (“Intellectual Property Rights”)

- "Previous Rights" refer to any Intellectual Property Rights and/or any associated know-how held by the Participants before the commencement date of the Competition (“Previous Rights”)

- "Creations" refer to any software (including source and object code software), database, technical specifications, text, design, model, information, knowledge, method, process or product, as well as any resulting elements and/or processes likely or otherwise to be protected in accordance with national and/or international laws or conventions on intellectual property developed by any Participant as a part of any submitted Submission throughout the Competition (“Creations”).

Warranty of non-infringement. When submitting any Submission, at any stage of the Competition, each Participant guarantees to the Sponsor that he/she is the co/owner and/or co/holder of the Intellectual Property Rights regarding all or part of the Creations contained in the Submissions submitted at any stage of the Competition, and that he/she has obtained all rights and permissions regarding all pre-existing Creations and any elements of the Submissions for which he/she does not hold the relevant rights.

Each Participant guarantees that (i) his/her contribution is original and unprecedented; (ii) it does not infringe upon the copyright or any Intellectual Property Rights of any third party; (iii) all the elements of which his/her Submissions are formed, as well as all pieces of contributions and information communicated in the Submission presentation documents are accurate, reliable and complete; and (iv) the submission of the relevant Submission does not constitute an act of unfair competition of any kind.

It is compulsory for Participants to indicate the source of any pre-existing Creations of whichever nature and on whichever support that are included in any submitted Submission. Any Submission involving several Participants constitutes a collaborative work and it should be treated as such in accordance with the applicable regulation in force.

Liability. The Sponsor cannot be held liable for any infringement of the above provisions by Participants. Each Participant shall indemnify the Sponsor against any disturbance, action, claim, opposition and demand or eviction attempt from any third party in connection with any Creation in the Submissions (Intellectual Property Rights included).

Ownership of Intellectual Property rights

By submitting a Submission and participating in the Competition, Participants are not granting Sponsor any rights to any intellectual property supporting all or part of the Submission and the Sponsor makes no claim to ownership of the Submission or any intellectual property that it may contain.

12. MODIFICATION OF RULES, SUSPENSION AND CANCELLATION OF THE COMPETITION

Update of the Rules. The Sponsors and the Organizer reserve the right to amend the Rules at any time, including the Competition duration in case of operational imperatives, without prior notice to Participants regarding the enforcement or the validity of these amendments. Participants are encouraged to consult the Rules regularly. Participants expressly waive all claims or disputes related to any amendment to the Rules by the Sponsors and the Organizer.

Should any paragraph of the Rules be declared or judged illegal, unenforceable or void by a court decision, the paragraph in question will be considered null and void, but the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining paragraphs hereof shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

Competition Cancellation or Suspension. The Sponsors and the Organizer reserve the right in its discretion, to (i) cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition and the Rules, for any reason, at any time and without any liability, and (ii) to limit or restrict participation in the Competition. The Sponsors and the Organizer will not be held liable for the modification, cancellation or suspension of the Competition and no compensation or remuneration will be due to the Participants.

13. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

The Sponsors and the Organizer will in no way be held liable in the event of a breakdown or failure, regardless of the cause, of any telecommunications network used that causes Participants difficulty in or prevents Participants from identifying themselves on or gaining access to the Competition website.

Participants agree that the Sponsors and the Organizer, their affiliates and all of their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, representatives and agents (“released parties”) will have no liability whatsoever for, and will be released and held harmless by Participants for any claims, liabilities, or causes of action of any kind or nature for any injury, loss or damages of any kind including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages to persons, including without limitation disability or death. Without limiting the foregoing, everything on the Competition website and in connection with the Competition is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Some jurisdictions may not allow the limitations or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages or exclusion of implied warranties, in which case such limitation or exclusion shall apply only to the extent permitted by the law in the relevant jurisdiction.

Participation in the Competition implies acknowledgement and acceptance of the characteristics, limits and risks of the Internet and related technologies, particularly with regard to performance, response time, security of software and computer equipment against various potential attacks, such as viruses, logic bombs or Trojans, and loss or misuse of data. As a result, the Sponsors and the Organizer will not be held liable in any way for any damage incurred by Participants arising from these characteristics, limits and risks, which Participants accept by registering for and taking part in the Competition.

The Sponsors and the Organizer will not in any case be held liable for damages resulting from faults with or delays in the submission of Submissions by Participants, including refusal to accept the Submissions as a consequence of their submission beyond the deadlines set out in the Rules, from faults with or delays to the sending of any emails by Participants, or from any alterations made to the Submissions independently of the Sponsors and the Organizer.

The Sponsors and the Organizer will not in any case be held liable for damages resulting from services provide by a third-party relating to the prizes. The Sponsors and the Organizer will not be held liable for the consequences of a Participant’s disqualification from the Competition as a result of his/her violation of the Rules.

14. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION

Participation in the Competition requires the communication and processing of a Participant's personal data ("Personal Data").

The purposes of the processing are:

To meet the needs of the organization of the Competition
To organize the intermediation between the Participant and the Sponsors, to ensure identification, communication and preservation of the exchanges with the Participant

For more details on the use your personal data, please refer to the Privacy Notice and Cookie Policy.

15. APPLICABLE LAW AND DISPUTES RESOLUTION

The Competition and any action related thereto shall be governed by the law applicable to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the HKSAR courts.

1 Dates and times in these Rules refer to Hong Kong Time (HKT).
2 The final pitching session may be held online depending upon the development of the pandemic. The Organizer shall inform all Sponsors and Final Teams the arrangement in early January 2023.