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UWA student Aaditya Bhargava has won the EY Survive the Panel competition with a project to recycle e-waste.

Beating entrants from across Australia, Aaditya was the overall competition winner, as well as the winner of the People’s Choice Award, collecting a total of $11,000 to put towards his project.

Aaditya pitched a business based on the co-operative model. In this model, organisations would sell or donate their used equipment to the co-operative’s members - university students. The students would then repair or recycle the equipment for resale or donation to organisations or people who do not have the budget for new equipment.

Initially, Aaditya heard about the competition after enrolling in a Small Business Management unit at the UWA Business School.

“It was via the Small Business Management unit that I heard about the competition,” Aaditya said. “Dr Elena Limnios (the unit co-ordinator) had posted it on LMS [the unit website] and I signed up. Coincidence? Don't think so!

“The unit’s content came in handy when I was developing my business case study. As an Engineering student, it was harder for me but I was able to utilise the lecture material to structure my business in three different operational phases. This was especially useful as this provided a tool for me to think about the idea and its whole length and breadth, so to speak.

“Since the students will be running the business from top to bottom, it was only befitting that a democratic, cooperative model of business was selected. My aim behind this was to solve a problem and not make a profit, so by using this model we can focus solely on surplus and deficit instead of profit and loss.

“Dr Limnios mentored me from the start till the very end. Her foresight and knowledge played a big factor in my victory. I am very thankful to her for that!

“I can't encourage students enough to take part in the EY Survive the Panel competition. There are many problems to solve in this world, so pick a puzzle and get started!”

Aaditya’s mentor, Dr Limnios , is part of the Co-operative Enterprise Research Unit at the UWA Business School. CERU is a focal point for research, education and outreach activities focusing on the co-operative and mutual enterprise sector and is led by the UWA Business School’s Winthrop Professor Tim Mazzarol.

Cooperative enterprise is founded on the principles of democracy, voluntary and open membership, member economic participation, autonomy, independence, collaboration, education and a concern for the community.

Media references

Verity Chia (UWA Business School)                                              (+61 8) 6488 1346