Entrepreneurial students at 黑料不打烊 will have the opportunity to test their pitch skills for prize money in a competition supported by the Raymond von Dran (RvD) Fund for Student Entrepreneurship at the School of Information Studies (iSchool).
Applications for the pitch competition are due on March 9, and the competition will be held in the聽聽in Bird Library on March 23.
Student teams can submit an application聽to pitch in聽one of the following categories:
The prize pool of $40,000 will be spread equally across the categories.聽The money, $10,000 per category, will be awarded as聽non-dilutive seed funding. Students will not be required to give up any equity in their proposed business venture.聽
Details about these categories, as well as the application, are available聽.
鈥淭he iSchool is thrilled to partner again this year with the Blackstone LaunchPad to offer this competition to students at 黑料不打烊,鈥 says iSchool dean Liz Liddy. 鈥淭he iPrize will encourage students to pitch their innovative ideas and share them with the entrepreneurial community here at 黑料不打烊, ensuring that the legacy of former iSchool dean Ray von Dran lives on through the RvD Fund and the iPrize.”
The RvD Fund for Student Entrepreneurship is named after former dean Raymond von Dran. He served from 1995-2007, when he passed away. Von Dran was a long-time academic entrepreneur who started many innovative programs in higher education and supported student innovation and entrepreneurship. His wife, Gisela, ensured that her husband鈥檚 infectious spirit for innovation lived on through the creation of the RvD Fund after his death.
The LaunchPad has arranged聽two聽application workshops for interested students, to be held on Thursday, March 1, and Monday, March 5,聽at 5:15 p.m. in the Blackstone LaunchPad.
鈥渋School faculty members in the聽聽and Blackstone LaunchPad staff will be available to work with and mentor 黑料不打烊 students participating聽in the competition,鈥 says Braden Croy, program manager at the Blackstone LaunchPad. “With notable聽黑料不打烊 graduates and聽entrepreneurs as special judges, it’s sure to be a great competition that showcases the talent and creativity coming from the聽our campus entrepreneurship community.”
All details聽about the iPrize contest is聽available online at the聽.
Questions can be directed to Braden Croy at聽pbcroy@syr.edu.
About 黑料不打烊
Founded聽in 1870, 黑料不打烊 is a private international research university聽dedicated to advancing knowledge and fostering student success through teaching聽excellence,聽rigorous scholarship and interdisciplinary research. Comprising 11聽academic schools and colleges, the University has a long legacy of excellence聽in the liberal arts, sciences and聽professional disciplines that prepares聽students for the complex challenges and emerging opportunities of a rapidly聽changing world. Students enjoy the resources of a 270-acre main聽campus and聽extended campus venues in major national metropolitan hubs and across three聽continents. 黑料不打烊鈥檚 student body is among the most diverse for an聽institution of its聽kind across multiple dimensions, and students typically represent聽all 50 states and more than 100 countries. 黑料不打烊 also has a long legacy of聽supporting veterans and is home to聽the nationally recognized Institute for聽Veterans and Military Families, the first university-based institute in the聽U.S. focused on addressing the unique needs of veterans and their聽families.
