Marcus Butler
10 March 2015: What do meeting Warren Buffett or Stephen Spielberg in an elevator and $4,000 have in common?
The answer - a well-delivered pitch in three minutes could see you walk away with the money.
While confronting a major potential investor like Buffett or Spielberg in a lift might be unlikely now, University of Canberra researchers are setting themselves up with the best chance of taking the four grand in cash during this year's Big Ideas - Pitch for Funds.
The pitch session is a part of the University's annual Research Festival to be held on 19 March.
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Past winner Bhavik Mehta delivers his winning pitch during the 2013 Research Festival's Pitch for Funds Photo: supplied
Most of those who are willing to put their research and their presentation skills on the line for the opportunity of a cash injection into their work won't be going in unprepared.
Almost two thirds of the HDR students and Early Career Researchers taking part in the Pitch for Funds joined in a workshop on how to deliver a pitch with UC Teaching and Learning's Dr Peter Copeman.
Dr Copeman said the main challenge for researchers isn't getting their pitch out in three minutes, it's turning complex academic ideas and problems into an engaging story.
"Most researchers start out with an exciting idea and they're full of energy about it. The nature of their work sometimes means they may lose that excitement and energy in the daily grind.
"But putting together a good pitch can actually get a researcher out of a rut, clear their head and reconfirm the direction of their study," he said.
"One of the most important ideas to get across to researchers as they pitch their ideas is that they are telling their own story, in which they are the hero. The other is to get them to believe that story, and deliver the pitch with passion."
The workshop involved researchers having to answer questions about their work, its importance and the problems they face in short sentences, with the aim of preparing a pitch of about 400 words.
Not every participant in the workshop will take part in the Pitch for Funds or the 3 Minute Thesis competition (held later in the year), but Dr Copeman says the skills go right to the heart of a researcher's future work.
"Researchers are expected now to be entrepreneurs and innovators. The days of being shut in a lab and having a paper published occasionally are gone. Skills in communication - networking, presentation and pitching - are expected.
"Having an interesting and engaging pitch ready is crucial if researchers find themselves in that lift with Warren Buffett, or more probably at a conference with a possible future employer or investor, but even when asked about their work by Aunt Mabel at the Sunday barbeque," Dr Copeman said.
The Pitch for Funds finals took place during the University of Canberra's Research Festival, with 12 finalists putting forward their pitch.
