(From left): Melissa Chaboyer, Alyssa Blanco, and Kristie Johnson.

Students from Red River College’s Business Administration program got some cross-border networking experience under their belts while taking part in the University of North Dakota’s Giants Entrepreneurship Challenge.

The third annual business plan competition — hosted by the university’s Department of Entrepreneurship and held April 13 and 14 on the UND campus in Grand Forks — was open to student teams from all colleges and universities in North Dakota, as well as from elsewhere in Canada and the U.S.

Judging panels were comprised of experienced entrepreneurs and business development specialists, and prizes were awarded to the top three teams, as well as for Best Elevator Pitch, Most Improved, and Most Innovative Idea (separate from the business plan competition).

The RRC team behind Re.Style — a proposed women’s consignment shop — came fourth in the general competition, behind teams from UND, Ball State University, and Johns Hopkins University. All of the RRC students in attendance benefited from the competition’s focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, and the development of future business endeavours.

“Red River College is a college of applied learning, and participating in this international competition was experiential learning, which will surely be applied by those who participated,” says Gordon Mackie, a Business Administration instructor at RRC.

Click here for more information about the Giants Entrepreneurship Challenge.