Chung-Ang University Hosts Its Largest-Ever Student Startup Competition

[한국대학신문 이정환 기자] Chung-Ang University (President Park Sang-gue) has held its largest-ever startup competition for enrolled students.

Chung-Ang University announced that, on the 24th, it successfully held the '2025 The 3rd College of Business and Economics Startup Competition' at Daishin Hall in Building 310 (Centennial Memorial Hall), organized by the College of Business and Economics (Dean Kim Chang-bong). This competition was organized with the purpose of supporting enrolled students to directly experience entrepreneurship and startups, and to help them develop innovative ideas into viable business ventures. Sponsored by Shinhan Bank and the Korea Institute of Startup&Entrepreneurship Development, the grand prize-winning team was awarded a scholarship of 50 million KRW.

The event proceeded in the following order: △Opening remarks by Kim Chang-bong, Dean of the College of Business and Economics △Introduction of the judges △Final presentations and Q&A session △Score tallying △Congratulatory address by President Park Sang-gue △Judges’ overall comments △Award ceremony and closing remarks.

A total of 58 teams applied for this year’s competition, and 9 teams advanced to the final stage. The finalist teams were comprehensively evaluated on factors such as the uniqueness of their ideas, commercialization potential, and expected impact through a 10-minute presentation followed by a 7-minute Q&A session.

The evaluation was based on a total of 140 points, with △Startup idea (30 points) △Commercialization feasibility and expected impact, and △Presentation skills (40 points). The judging panel was chaired by Jeon Young-min, former CEO of Lotte Ventures and professor at Chung-Ang University, with participation from Kim Jong-woo, Head of the Startup Division at Seoul Business Agency; Yoon Tae-ho, former KBS PD and director; Eom Sang-woo and Jung Hye-min, team leaders of the Digital Solutions Department at Shinhan Bank; and Oh Seung-jae, team leader at Shinhan Venture Investment’s Shinhan Future Lab.

Judge Chairman Jeon Young-min stated, “It was extremely difficult to rank the teams, as all of them showed clear evidence of intense deliberation and thorough preparation,” and added, “Many teams demonstrated a high level of creativity in their ideas and strong potential for commercialization, which makes the future all the more promising.”

Dean Kim Chang-bong said in his opening remarks, “Startups are a global trend and a path for the younger generation to create new value,” and added, “I hope this competition serves not merely as an opportunity to win awards, but as a starting point that leads to actual startups in connection with external organizations.”

President Park Sang-gue stated, “I hope this competition becomes a meaningful platform for students to truly understand the essence of entrepreneurship and startups, and to explore the potential of industry-academia collaboration.” and he added, “I would like to express my gratitude to Shinhan Bank and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development for their generous support in ensuring the smooth progress of the event.”

On this day, the Grand Prize — the President’s Award — was awarded to Team ‘Zolve’ for their proposal of ‘Zolve Leaf,’ a pesticide-free fertilizer for disease prevention. The Excellence Award was given to Team ‘AIDn’ for their proposal of an integrated emergency medical device designed to safely preserve severed body parts in the event of an amputation accident and The Outstanding Awards went to Team ‘Flour Sapiens,’ Team ‘From the Consumer’s Perspective,’ and Team ‘CAUde.’ Teams ‘The Jinkook,’ ‘Scale,’ ‘Project 402,’ and ‘EI Matador’ received Encouragement Awards.

Now in its third year, the 'Chung-Ang University College of Business and Economics Startup Competition' attracted strong interest and participation from students, thanks to the biggest prize offering in the competition’s history and a well-structured follow-up support program, made possible through sponsorship from Shinhan Bank and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development. Chung-Ang University plans to continue promoting youth entrepreneurship and strengthening its role as a bridge for industry-academia collaboration, taking the lead in nurturing future innovative talent.