On March 30, the University of Maryland launched 30 Days of EnTERPreneurship, a series of six events that will award nearly $250,000 to UMD faculty, students and alums. The events honor the best in entrepreneurship at all stages of innovation — from invention to business plans to start-ups – and the month-long series offers some good outreach and marketing ideas for all TTOs. “We have established ourselves as a top public research university; we also must become a premier innovation and entrepreneurship university,” says University of Maryland President Wallace Loh, commenting on the busy schedule. Here is a summary of the six events:

March 30: UMD Entrepreneurship Invitational: This annual event of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business included three activities:

• Startup Maryland: This new statewide initiative supported by the Startup America Partnership to grow startup ecosystems was officially launched.
• BB&T Business Invitational: A showcase of UMD companies, regional startups and campus and regional resources for entrepreneurs.
• Cupid’s Cup: Student and alumni entrepreneurs who own and operate their own businesses vied for a $25,000 prize.

April 17: Invention of the year award: Each year a judging panel of University of Maryland personnel and industry experts selects a winner from the finalists in each of three categories: information science, life science and physical science.

April 18: Do good challenge: Film star Kevin Bacon is challenging UMD students to “Do Good.” As a carrot, he’s dangling some “very cool prizes for you and your favorite cause.”

April 20:  UMD $75,000 business plan competition: A record 91 UMD students, faculty members and researchers entered this year’s competition.

April 20: Innovate 4 Healthcare challenge: Teams from 25 U.S. and foreign universities entered this new competition launched by the Robert H. Smith School’s Center for Health Information and Decision Systems. Teams have designed plans to strengthen patient engagement with healthcare providers using information technology. The eight finalists will present their solutions in person to leaders in the healthcare industry.

April 25: $100,000 ACC clean energy challenge: This additional new competition encourages students from all universities in the southeastern U.S. to develop business plans with high commercial potential for new clean energy companies, including projects related to renewable energy, energy efficiency improvements and advanced fuels/vehicles.

Source: UMD Newsdesk

Posted April 3rd, 2012 under Intellectual Property Marketing

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