Website wins Wes Nicol award
A website for exploring culture the world over wins the seventh annual Wes Nicol Award for the designers of WikiGlobe. “Winning the competition came as a very pleasant surprise,” says Srdjan Stojcev, who notes he is also speaking for wikiglobe.net teammates Marta Jankovic and Jane Porter. “We all feel extremely honoured to be given not just the opportunity to compete but also being awarded 1st place, especially this year where there have been several great business plans." A tool for exploring “every inch of the globe,” WikiGlobe is a social network, travel blog and wiki site all in one. The site is devoted to providing local information on a global scale for travelers and anyone interested in culture around the world.
"We are still a little shocked, but eager to keep the ball moving and very excited about the national competition on the 27th,” says Stojcev, who adds that the team is not sure what it will do with the $6,000 prize money. “We are all 4th year students finishing our degrees in International Business so that naturally comes first,” he says. “We will wait to make any further decisions after the nationals.”
Stojvec credits John Callahan, associate professor of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton, for his support and encouraging the team to submit its business plan to the competition.
“Once we decided to do it,” adds Stojvec, “Geoff Waddington and staff at realdecoy.ca provided us with crucial information regarding our business model and the complications that arise from web 2.0 websites. This information was extremely helpful and we cannot stress the importance of having good mentors with precise knowledge.”
