A Business Team Perspective

I am part of the X-Prize business team and it is amazing that even though everyone is overloaded with work and other school projects, there is a significant amount of quality work being developed. There have been times when our progress slows down (Winter break), but overall we just keep chugging along.

This a great experience because it is challenging to develop a business plan for a product that is still evolving. Each aspect relies on other aspects in a continuous circle with countless manufacturing details to be addressed, many options for an organizational structure, and a very specific customer base that must be targeted. On top of that we need specific costs for everything. But the fact is the without the quality work from the VRI team, this project would not even exist. It is amazing that students from our school can develop a professional vehicle that will compete internationally against some of the greatest engineers in the world.

-Paul Iverson, Business Team

Welcome to the WWU X PRIZE Team Official Blog!

This blog is a space for members of the team to share new information, stories, experiences and updates to anyone and everyone interested in what we are doing.

Who we are:

The WWU X PRIZE team has developed a prototype that can use a variety of powertrain options to meet regional market objectives for fuel efficiency, cost and reduced emissions. The vehicle structure uses composite materials to form large, lightweight structures to meet safety and weight targets while reducing manufacturing costs. A unique production process enables the team to produce parts with reduced cycle times. Front, side and roll-over protection is provided by large energy absorbing crumple zones and a strong safety cell for passengers.

The WWU X PRIZE team is comprised of three separate teams. The vehicle team, based in the VRI, consists of engineering students from vehicle design, plastics, composites, and manufacturing specializations. These students are doing all the engineering, manufacturing, and testing of vehicle related portions of this project. The business team, which is comprised mainly of students from the business management department, is writing the professional business and marketing plans. The Marketing/Public Relations/Fundraising team is comprised of students from the communication and journalism departments. They work with the business team on the development of the marketing plan as well as the pubic relations and fundraising campaigns.