Student Competition Campus Prizes
Heading back to Syracuse this week? Get a jump start on the semester by thinking about competition season this spring. Applications are now open for events featuring more than $125,000 in prize money for great student ideas. The LaunchPad team is ready to help you get ready to compete. Learn more about competitions hosted by the LaunchPad, the iSchool, Whitman School of Management, VPA’s School of Design and InclusiveU.
There are more competitions than ever this spring. We are actively looking for founders, idea champions and people who want to be part of teams from across every academic program on campus.
Don’t have an idea, but want to be part of the fun and join a team? E-mail us at LaunchPad@syr.edu and we can help you make matches.
Key dates:
- March 15, 2021, Applications due for Raymond von Dran (RvD) iPrize (with teams automatically entered into the Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards, as well as Compete CNY, the regional qualifier for the New York Business Plan Competition, which are both part of this event).
- March 19, 2021, Applications due for Panasci Business Plan Competition. Apply through the Whitman School of Management and learn more on the competition website.
- March 26, 2021, Virtual competition: RvD iPrize, Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards and Compete CNY (concurrent competitions)
- April 5, 2021, Applications due for Intelligence ++ Competition.
- April 23 – 24, 2021, Event: Panasci Business Plan Competition, Whitman School of Management
- April 16, 2021, Event: Intelligence ++ Competition.
- May 7, 2021, Event: New York Business Plan Competition (top winners of the RvD iPrize competition move on to the state event)
About the competitions:
- Raymond von Dran (RvD) iPrize: Open to all graduate and undergraduate students working on venture ideas for products, services, technologies and social impact ventures. Sponsored by the iSchool, the competition typically features a prize package of more than $40,000. The competition is also part of Compete CNY, the regional qualifier for the New York State Business Plan Competition.
- Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards: Open to undergraduate and graduate students at Syracuse competing in the iPrize, the competition features a prize package of $10,000 from the Hunter Brooks Watson Memorial Fund (Hunter’s Fund) in memory of Hunter Brooks Watson, a Syracuse University iSchool student who passed away in a 2016 distracted driving accident. This competition is concurrent with the RvD iPrize.
- Compete CNY and New York Business Plan Competition: Contestants in the RvD iPrize are automatically entered into this regional qualifier for the New York Business Competition. The qualifier runs concurrently with the RvD iPrize. Open to all undergraduate and graduate students at New York State Universities. Check for details on this year’s competition.
- Panasci Business Plan Competition: Sponsored by the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and open to all graduate and undergraduate students, typically with a prize package of more than $40,000. This is a separate application through the Whitman School, so check for details on the competition website.
- Intelligence ++ Competition: Supported by a generous gift to SU Libraries by Gianfranco Zaccai ’70 H’09 and the Zaccai Foundation for Augmented Intelligence (Intelligence++), this challenge is focused on inclusive entrepreneurship and design. It is open to all undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines, with a $30,000 prize package. Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged to submit proposals for products, services or technologies that address problems or create new opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. It is offered through a partnership between the LaunchPad, the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education (InclusiveU) and the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA). This is a separate application from the common app, so apply for this competition.
The LaunchPad team at SU Libraries is available to assist. To schedule a meeting to discuss your idea, get matched with a peer mentor, or participate in pitch workshops, please e-mail LaunchPad@syr.edu