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September 19, 2023 | Tom Ballard

U News | Case Western holds “Innovation Week” with 18 different events

Seton Hall announces its ninth annual "Pirates Pitch Competition for High School Students" that attracted applications from 15 states in 2022.

From Case Western Reserve University:

Eighteen events are scheduled during next week’s “Innovation Week” at the Cleveland, OH-based university. It’s the second annual celebration at the school and features three luncheons, a poster pitch competition for students and Post Docs, and a variety of other events. The full schedule can be found here.

From Seton Hall University:

The university’s Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Stillman School of Business is hosting its ninth annual “Pirates Pitch Competition for High School Students” on November 17 where high school entrepreneurs will vie for more than $50,000 in cash prizes and scholarships to attend Seton Hall University.

The “Shark Tank” style competition offers high school students an engaging opportunity to build entrepreneurship skills, including learning how to recognize viable business opportunities and deliver a compelling startup pitch. The event takes place during “Global Entrepreneurship Week 2023,” a worldwide celebration of entrepreneurship that runs from November 13 – 19. Last year, the competition received 180 submissions from 15 states and five foreign countries.

High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors with a 3.0 grade point average or better are eligible to submit their original business proposals that describe an innovative product or service in 350 words or less. More information and a link to the application can be found here.

From the University of Minnesota:

The University announced that it launched a record-breaking 23 start-up companies in fiscal year (FY) 2023. It was the result of a growing research portfolio, an increasingly entrepreneurial faculty culture, and years of careful program growth and refinement by the teams at the institution’s Technology Commercialization (Tech Comm) and Venture Center as they work to successfully shepherd innovations to market.

“We didn’t just wake up one day and find ourselves to be the largest creator of start-up companies in Minnesota,” said Rick Huebsch, Associate Vice President for Research, Technology Commercialization. “We’ve spent years fine-tuning the process and building the ecosystem, and we’re fortunate to have access to researchers who are embracing entrepreneurship and partners at the University and beyond who can help us build innovation. It takes a village to turn research innovation into a commercial success and it feels like we have many of the right pieces in place.”

Since 2006, the University of Minnesota has spun out 235 start-ups that have a survival rate of over 75 percent and have attracted more than $1.8 billion in investment capital, IPOs, and acquisitions. More than 70 percent of those start-ups have been founded in Minnesota.

From the University of Michigan:

Research led by the Ann Arbor-based university generated a record 580 new inventions last year and launched 25 start-up companies ranging in scope from innovative therapies for the treatment of fibrosis to technologies that aid in substance abuse monitoring.

Innovation Partnerships, the university’s central hub for research commercialization activity, also reported 145 new U.S. patents and more than 300 license and option agreements with industry during the last fiscal year.

“These developments make clear that the University of Michigan is an exceptional place for both basic research and applied R&D,” President Santa J. Ono said. “The scale of our inventions, the reach of innovations, and the sum of overall impact is just phenomenal.”

From Virginia Commonwealth University:

A start-up company, spun out of research at Virginia Commonwealth University, is commercializing what it calls a breakthrough in insulation.

ThermaGEL Innovations has developed insulation material using aerogels, which are porous solids mostly made of air. The company says its aerogel insulation improves heat resistance, known as R-value, by 136 percent over conventional materials such as fiberglass. Its aerogels are also thinner, lightweight, flame-proof, moisture-proof, and reduce noise.

“Aerogels were invented nearly a century ago; however, the process to make them is complex and expensive — until VCU made a breakthrough discovery,” said Marc McConnaughey, President and Chief Executive Officer of ThermaGEL. “What VCU has achieved with aerogel production could have a significant, positive impact on the environment and support a more sustainable future.”



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