Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad is hosting an Ideas Competition on Friday, Oct. 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Whitman Atrium (Grand Flaum Hall) at 721 University Ave. The Ideas Competition is open to all Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF students interested in entrepreneurship or problem-solving. Applications to participate must be submitted by Oct. 5 via an online application form. Participants will compete for the chance to win one of four $1,000 cash prizes.
The competition was designed for students with no prior experience as an opportunity to explore entrepreneurship. With a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, competition organizers encourage students from underrepresented and under resourced communities to apply.
Students who have observed problems to solve or imagined creative solutions or opportunities will be coached by current LaunchPad peer mentors to develop their ideas. Students will then have a one-minute 30-second opportunity to pitch that idea to judges. Four winners will be selected, one each in the categories of climate impact, health and life sciences, consumer products services, and general, to receive a $1,000 cash prize. The winners will then have the opportunity to progress to a subsequent national round of the competition for a chance to win $10,000.
The Blackstone LaunchPad is Syracuse University’s innovation hub, connecting the campus resource-rich ecosystem with a global network that provides support for aspiring entrepreneurs, inventors and creators. The program serves faculty, staff, students and recent alumni across all disciplines who are interested in entrepreneurship, venture creation and innovation careers. The program supports a key pillar of Syracuse University’s academic strategic plan to give students experiential opportunities that help prepare them to be trailblazers in an entrepreneurial world.
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