Syracuse University is currently accepting applications through Jan. 25 for the 2024 campus qualifier competition for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) InVenture Prize. Eight teams will be selected from the applicant pool to compete in the live pitch campus competition on Feb. 1 from 4 to 6 pm in Bird Library.
The competition is open to undergraduate students or students who have received their undergraduate degree within the past year and who are the original creators, inventors or owners of the intellectual property underlying their invention. Alumni and industry leaders from around the country will serve as judges to select the “top inventor” to represent Syracuse University at the ACC Conference finals.
Aidan Mickleburgh, founder of Intervea, won second place in the 2023 ACC InVenture Prize competition.
The winner of the Syracuse University competition will receive an expense paid trip to compete in the ACC InVenture Prize finals from March 26 to 28 in Tallahassee, Florida. The televised finals feature one team from each of the 15 colleges and universities in the ACC Academic Consortium who compete for $30,000 in prizes. Teams with generated revenue or venture capital funding of more than $100,000 are ineligible. This includes funding from both institutional and non-institutional sources such as contests, grants, friends and family, bank loans, etc.
Student startup teams or researchers are invited to submit an online application of a venture idea to participate in the Syracuse campus qualifier. All campus qualifier finalists will also be invited to apply for LaunchPad Innovation Fund grants as well as Orange Innovation Fund grants, both available through gifts to Syracuse University Libraries. Competitive applications typically include technology or research that is being commercialized in areas such as agriculture, biology, life sciences, medical, climate, consumer electronics, education, finance, sports, hardware, software, artificial intelligence, augmented or virtual reality, big data, autonomous devices, robotics, advanced materials, Internet of Things, 5G and more. Digital platforms or services should have an underlying novel technology and ideally should be past the idea stage with some customer discovery and design drawings.
The Syracuse University ACC InVenture Prize is supported by the Provost’s Office and is hosted by Syracuse University Libraries and the Blackstone LaunchPad. Past Syracuse contestants who participated in the PBS-televised finals included: Kate Beckman ’17 G’18 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), founder of FreshU; Kayla Simon ’19 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Elizabeth Tarangelo ’19 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), co-founders of In-Spire; Alec Gillinder ’20 (College of Visual and Performing Arts) and Quinn King ’20 (College of Visual and Performing Arts), co-founders of MedUX (they captured second place in the conference finals); Russell Fearon ’20 G’21 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Ricardo Sanchez ’21 (College of Visual and Performing Arts), co-founders of SugEx; Noah Mechnig-Giordano ’23 G’23 (College of Engineering and Computer Science and Martin J. Whitman School of Management), founder of Happy Loose Leaf Tea; and Aidan Mickleburgh ’23 G’23 (College of Engineering and Computer Science and Martin J. Whitman School of Management), founder of Intervea (who captured second place in the conference).
“Representing Syracuse University at the ACC InVenture competition is both an honor and an opportunity,” says David Seaman, dean of Syracuse University Libraries and University Librarian. “Past Syracuse University representatives have benefited from learning and networking at a national level, going on to pursue their innovations or careers in the tech sector. And the chance to earn up to $30,000 in prizes can have a tremendous impact to a startup.”
