Clean Energy Competition

Have an idea for developing new energy technologies?

Want to show off UVa’s entrepreneurial talent?

As part of the Obama Administration’s effort to support the next generation of American clean energy entrepreneurs, the Department of Energy is offering $2 million to student-entrepreneurs for new clean energy solutions.  These funds will be awarded through a series of five regional competitions around the country.
Students at UVa and other universities in the Southeast are invited to compete in the ACC Clean Energy Challenge.  The winner of this challenge will receive a $100,000 prize and compete in the DOE National Clean Energy Business Plan Finals in Washington, D.C., in summer 2012.

To enter, you or your team should register at www.accnrg.org.

Key Dates and Steps:

23 March 2012      Executive Summary (3 pages) and an Investor Video Pitch (3-5 minutes) due.  (During this preliminary round, students compete with other teams from their university.)

10 April   Teams notified of advancement to Southeast Regional Competition.

20 April        Full Commercialization Plans due.

24-25 April    Fifteen teams gather at the University of Maryland to make 20-minute presentations and compete for top prizes.

For complete rules, visit http://www.mtech.umd.edu/accnrg/rules.html.

If you are a UVa student and planning to submit an entry, please contact Prof. Bernie Carlson, wc4p@virginia.edu, so that he can keep track of UVa’s participation.

SEAS ENTREPRENEURIAL CONCEPT COMPETITION

Calling all UVa SEAS entrepreneurs and innovators!   We are pleased to announce the third annual UVa SEAS Entrepreneurial Concept Competition (ECC) on Wednesday, November 9.   This is an opportunity for engineering students (both grad and undergrad) to pitch a new product, process, or business and win a share of the $5000 in prizes.   The winner of the SEAS ECC will also have the honor of representing the School in the university-competition for the UVa Cup where the top prize is $20,000.

The deadline for submissions to the SEAS ECC is Saturday, October 29 at 12 noon.

Participants:    You may enter as an individual or with a team (see details on web site)

Submissions:   The SEAS contest submission is to be a two-page proposal written as an executive summary (see website listed below for details)

Prizes:              Three awards consisting of $3000, $1500, $500 each

Winner:            Must present to U.Va. Entrepreneurial Cup on November 18, 2011

Website:          (http://www.sts.virginia.edu/stshome/tikiindex.php?page=SEAS+Entrepreneurial+Concept+Contest+2011)
Dates to Remember:

29 October:    SEAS proposals due

2 November:   SEAS Finalists contacted by email

9 November:   SEAS Competition

18 November: U.Va. Cup Competition

For more information, please contact Letitia Green at Lpg7df@Virginia.edu or Bernie Carlson at wc4p@virginia.edu.

The Glamour of Serial Entrepreneurship

Presented by Sandy Lerner, Co-Founder of Cisco Systems and Urban Decay Cosmetics

Thursday, April 1st at 5:00 p.m. in Room 120 at the COMM School

Hosted by:

The Entrepreneurship Group at McIntire aims to create an atmosphere allowing students to cultivate their entrepreneurial plans through interaction with like-minded peers, professors, and established entrepreneurs. Members are provided guidance into the entrepreneurial field through group facilitation, business plan presentations, and participation in entrepreneurial competitions.

For more information, please visit: http://www.uva-entrepreneurs.com/

Our Guest Speaker:

The entrepreneurial spirit and wide array of business endeavors in  which Sandy Lerner has participated are remarkable.  Ms. Lerner is a  Stanford graduate with a masters in statistics and computer science.  Most notably, she co-founded Cisco Systems and Urban Decay cosmetics.  She is also a successful author, philanthropist, and farm manager.  Additionally, she engaged in the creation of the first router, leading  to the development of the modern Internet.

A Reception will be held in the McIntire Graduate Lounge from 6:30-7:00pm.   All Faculty & Students are invited.

Entrepreneurship Resources

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2010.  http://scout.wisc.edu/ 

Entrepreneurship Corner [iTunes]

http://ecorner.stanford.edu/

Started by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), the Entrepreneurship Corner is a “free online archive of entrepreneurship resources for teaching and learning.” It’s a tremendous resource for anyone broadly interested in the field of entrepreneurship, and the site contains over 1200 archived videos, podcasts, and external links. First-time visitors should start with the “Popular Videos” area. Here they will find videos like “Tips from the Entrepreneur” (featuring the founders of Google) and a talk on leadership and capability from Carla Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett- Packard. In the “Speakers” area, visitors can check out the “Most Viewed Speakers”, which include Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Guy Kawasaki of Garage Technology Ventures. Also, visitors will want to use the “Subscribe” feature to sign up to receive their newsletter and their RSS feed. [KMG]