The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) has announced the debut of the Shark Tank of Wellness student competition. The finals will take place during its 10th annual conference on Oct. 17 to 19 at KitzKongress, Kitzbühel in Tyrol, Austria. “Cultivating a passion for wellness is something ResortSuite feels strongly about, and supporting the creativity of the next generation of wellness entrepreneurs is extremely important for our industry,” says Frank Pitsikalis, founder and CEO. “I’m thankful to the Summit for giving these students a platform to express their concepts.”
The competition kicks off this summer. Individual students and teams are eligible to submit their wellness ideas through August 1. The contest is free to enter and open to university students, including third year undergrads and above. Submissions must include a written application along with a short video highlighting an innovative, viable concept, product, or service for the wellness industry. Entries will be judged on how their concepts could positively impact the future of wellness within a wide range of industries, including architecture/design, technology, beauty, education, spa, fitness, hospitality and travel, medicine, nutrition, and real estate. The top three finalists will be flown to Austria, along with their professors, to compete for $10,000 in prize money (first prize $5,000; second prize $3,000; third prize $2,000). The finalists will also receive access to the three-day conference, including all general sessions, breakout discussions, and industry forums, as well as their airfare and hotel accommodations. “Since 2009, the Global Wellness Summit Student Competition has limited submissions to universities within geographic proximity to the Summit,” says GWS chairman and CEO Susie Ellis. “This year, in honor of our tenth anniversary, we’re dramatically expanding its scope: it’s not only open to the wide world of college students, but they can submit ‘great new ideas’ for any wellness sector–from technology to tourism. The future of ‘wellness’ is in the hands of the next generation and it will be exciting to see where they think our industry is headed.”
Learn more about the full rules and regulations of the Shark Tank of Wellness competition.