Category: Competitions & Conferences

Durham, NC – SCOHP – Health Policy Case Competition

September 3, 2021 / Olivia Reneau

Want to gain experience in developing and delivering major healthcare innovations? Interested in health policy, entrepreneurship, consulting, business, or healthcare?

Duke undergraduate students of all backgrounds are invited to participate in the second annual Health Policy Case Competition which will be hosted on September 10th and 11th, 2021 in collaboration with Duke Student Collaborative on Health Policy (SCOHP), Duke Consulting Club, Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, and RTI International.

As a participant, you will gain the opportunity to simulate business problem-solving oriented towards healthcare and network with industry leaders. The first-place team will receive a $1000 cash prize, second place will receive $500, and third place will receive $250!

Apply here today as either an individual or as a member of up to a 5-member team by September 5. No prior experience is necessary: https://forms.gle/pj6WFa1uCXNApMyi6

Remote – Pear- $25K Competition

March 17, 2021 / Olivia Reneau

Calling all entrepreneurs! The application deadline for Pear $25K Competition is on Monday, March 22nd 11:59 PST. APPLY HERE

Pear $25K Competition

Winning teams will each be awarded a $25K uncapped SAFE and 20 student teams will win. No idea is too early to be considered and the application is quick. Winners will be decided through two interviews with the Pear team. Email me or Danielle (danielle@pear.vc) with any questions.

Pear Accelerator & Seed

Pear also hosts an exclusive Accelerator and leads Seed rounds up to $3M. Watch this video to hear about Pear’s hands-on support for product, growth, recruiting, and fundraising. You can apply through Pear Competition and opt into Accelerator.

More about Pear

The Pear VC team has built 8 startups and partnered early with companies now worth over $80 Billion, including Doordash, Branch, Guardant Health, and Gusto. They believe strongly in student founders – 49% of their portfolio companies are student-founded!

RTP – Triangle Impact Challenge 2021: FlyRDU – Design Challenge

September 10, 2020 / Olivia Reneau

TRIANGLE PARTNERS KICK OFF IMPACT CHALLENGE 2021: FlyRDU

Cash Prizes Offered For Ideas That Make Air Travel Safer During a Pandemic

RDU AIRPORT N.C. — Airline travel has taken a huge hit from the coronavirus shutdown, yet it has always been a vital part of the global and regional economy.

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) is already helping passengers fly with confidence by increasing its cleaning and disinfecting practices, requiring that masks be worn in the airport, encouraging physical distancing and using touchless technology. Now RDU wants to identify additional ways to make air travel safe and welcoming by tapping into the talents of local universities and research institutes.

RDU is working with Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, UNC-Chapel Hill and RTI International to improve the air travel experience by finding more ways to keep passengers safe and healthy during the parking, ticketing, screening, waiting, shopping, dining and boarding processes.

They’ve launched the Triangle Impact Challenge 2021: FlyRDU with $120,000 in prizes to look for these solutions by tapping into the region’s most innovative minds.

For example, is it possible to make the journey from a person’s car to their seat on board the aircraft completely touchless? Can passengers be screened and processed without standing in line? What incentives might help passengers behave more safely?

“RDU is committed to protecting the health of everyone who visits the airport and safely welcoming passengers back to air travel,” said Michael J. Landguth, president & CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. “This challenge is an opportunity for local students, faculty and employees of the consortium to design and develop innovative solutions that redefine the future of safe travel.”

Participants will be allowed to examine any aspect of the airport’s operation, from cleaning and disinfecting protocols to queuing procedures and building design. The submissions could range from new technologies to proposed health screenings, operational adjustments or any other advancement that could improve the travel experience by limiting the spread of illness.

The FlyRDU Challenge kicks off this month with a broad appeal inviting students, faculty and staff and university-affiliated startups at Duke, N.C. Central, N.C. State, UNC and RTI International to consider submitting proposals. The first round of projects are due Nov. 16 and will be judged by a panel of experts before finalists are announced the week of Dec. 21, 2020.

The finalists will pitch their projects during an event on the week of Jan. 18, 2021 and the winners will be announced the following week. Challenge organizers also plan to involve angel investors and startup company expertise in the region to help some of these ideas rapidly achieve marketability.

“Times of crisis like this can inspire great leaps forward in innovation and technology, we’ve seen that before,” said Lawrence Carin, vice president for research at Duke University. “I think it’s a terrific idea to call on this region’s creative and entrepreneurial spirit to try to improve the air travel we all depend on so much.”

“Innovation thrives and accelerates when people who have diverse sets of expertise come together to solve problems that are pressing and complex,” said Judith Cone, vice chancellor for innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development at UNC-Chapel Hill. “Launching this challenge is a smart way to coalesce inventive minds around air-travel challenges. This collaboration will engage innovators from universities in our region who bring the ingenuity, scientific knowledge and entrepreneurial skills to make an immediate economic and health impact at RDU and create a model of innovation for the entire industry.”

“NC State University is excited to be a part of this critically important innovation challenge,” said Tom Miller, senior vice provost and executive director of NC State Entrepreneurship. “Recently ranked by the Bush Institute among the top 20 U.S. universities for innovation impact, we are eager to help solve these problems created by the pandemic.”

“This area has world-class expertise in public health, virology, engineering and human factors design,” said James Gibson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, RTI International. “Surely we can apply what we know to the challenges now being faced by the air travel industry and come up with solutions that will help everyone, not just in the Piedmont of NC, but around the world.”

To learn more about the Triangle Impact Challenge 2021: FlyRDU please visit https://bit.ly/FlyRDU, sponsored by Agorize.

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WEBSITE: https://duke.agorize-platform.com/en/challenges/triangleimpact-flyrdu/agreements?lang=en

Online Pitch Event and Accelerator

May 6, 2020 / Anna Jacobs

Pear VC is hosting an online pitch event for East Coast & Midwest student and alumni founders on May 13th and applications to its Accelerator close on May 25th.

Pitch! for East Coast & Midwest students

May 13th 6PM EST. Learn more and RSVP to join.

Pitch your startup idea and get live feedback from VCs at Index Ventures, Defy VC, and Pear. The pitches are 3-minute with no slides. You can also just watch via Zoom if you don’t have an idea to share.

Pear Accelerator S20

Pear VC works hands-on with 15 startups over 13 weeks to build iconic companies. Product & growth mentorship, funding, office space, and a demo day attended by 400+ top VCs. We are conducting rolling interviews. Applications for the Summer 2020 cohort close on May 25th. Learn more and APPLY HERE.

About Pear VC: Pear VC partners with founders from day zero to build category defining companies. Our team has founded 6 companies and we share that experience with the next generation. Pear has been fortunate to partner early with companies now valued at over $40B, including Doordash, Branch, Gusto, and Guardant Health. We have a strong focus on student entrepreneurs. We partnered with 49% of our portfolio companies when the founders were students or recent graduates.

Menlo Park, CA – Silver Lake 2020 Distinguished Scholars Program – Scholarship

February 25, 2020 / Olivia Reneau

Silver Lake 2020 Distinguished Scholars Program

Program Description

Silver Lake is a global technology investing firm with 20+ years of history making notable investments in market-leading franchises—such as Alibaba, Dell Technologies, GoDaddy, Skype, Cornerstone, and Motorola Solutions—in partnership with world-class management teams and delivering accelerating scale and superior investment returns.

Silver Lake’s inaugural Distinguished Scholars Program is a one-week curriculum targeting high- achieving undergraduate women who wish to learn about private equity investing at a leading global investment firm. The Distinguished Scholars will have a unique immersive opportunity to work at a private equity firm as an undergraduate. Silver Lake will be admitting 4 – 8 Distinguished Scholars across top-tier universities in the U.S. to learn alongside our full-time professional leaders in Silicon Valley. The Distinguished Scholars will also gain insights to our firm’s business, industry, and culture and receive training with best-in-class investors, deal and portfolio company exposure, direct mentorship, expert operating and investor panels, networking functions, among other events. Exceptional Distinguished Scholars will come out of this program with a unique and differentiated experience and may be considered for a future full-time position with the firm.

Who Can Apply

The Distinguished Scholar role is open to women candidates currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at a four-year accredited U.S. college or university graduating between December 2020 and June 2021. We are looking for students with an outstanding record of academic achievement and a strong interest in businesses and financial markets. We value diversity of thought, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives and are looking for motivated, resourceful, analytical people with exceptional interpersonal and communication skills who enjoy tackling new challenges and solving intellectual problems.

Program Logistics

Saturday, May 16, 2020 to Friday, May 22, 2020

All events will be held at or near our Silver Lake office in Menlo Park, California. The Distinguished Scholars will be paid and will receive travel & accommodations for the duration of the program.

Application Details

Candidates interested in applying to the program must submit all of the following documents to programs@silverlake.com by Wednesday, March 4, 2020 5pm Pacific Time:

Current resume with candidate’s up-to-date contact information
Copy of unofficial transcript
Cover letter (1-2 pages maximum), which addresses the following:

(i) Why are you applying / What do you hope to gain from the program; (ii) Describe one of your greatest accomplishments;
(iii) Tell us about a challenge or obstacle you’ve had to overcome;
(iv) What is a business that really interests you, and why?

Should you be selected for an interview, we will ask for 2 references (including name, phone #, email, organization / title and relationship to you), ideally, of people you have worked with at a prior job / internship or a professor / university affiliate. Please be prepared to provide this information.

Applications with documents missing will not be considered. After submitting an application, candidates as part of follow-up screening may be asked to participate in a video interview.

Who We Are

Silver Lake is the global leader in technology investing, with over $43 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of approximately 100 investment and operating professionals located in Silicon Valley, New York, London and Hong Kong. Silver Lake’s portfolio of investments collectively generates more than $230 billion of revenue annually and employs 370,000 people globally. For more information about Silver Lake and its portfolio, please visit www.silverlake.com.

Remote – 2020 Worker and Student Financial Health Challenge – Competition

December 13, 2019 / Olivia Reneau

About the competition

Workers and students of the future face challenging trends that may jeopardize their financial health. Rapid technology changes are requiring workers to train and reskill for career advancement, yet costs of education and training programs are rising steadily. The gig economy is growing rapidly, but offers inconsistent income and is an insufficient replacement for traditional jobs.

There is a need for fintech products, services, and partnerships that help people prepare for the economies of the future by addressing the barriers to affordable training, education, and opportunity.

On October 24, the Financial Solutions Lab launched its sixth challenge, to advance the financial health of workers and students who are developing in-demand skills that prepare them for the future of work. The challenge will cultivate, support and scale fintech solutions that benefit people who face persistent financial health challenges.

Who should appy?

This Challenge aims to identify and develop fintech solutions and partnerships that are advancing the financial health of workers and students who are developing in-demand skills to prepare them for the future of work.

We are looking for innovative start-ups and nonprofits who are:

Providing fintech solutions to the currently employed, either full-time or as a participant in the gig economy.
Addressing the challenges of building the workforce of the future, including helping workers access training or seek higher education to either enter, rejoin, or advance their careers.

What do selected companies recieve?

Fintech organizations will receive:

Up to $125,000 in capital.
Professional services assistance from industry leaders.
Mentorship from the Financial Health Network and JPMorgan Chase employees.

How do I apply?

Follow this link! Applications are accepted through January 6th, 2020.

Remote – Rockefeller Foundation-Acumen – Social Innovation Challenge

September 12, 2019 / Olivia Reneau

Rockefeller Foundation-Acumen Social Innovation Challenge Launches 10/15!

The challenges facing the world today are fast-moving, intertwined, and multi-layered. Tackling these challenges will require a combination of fresh minds and experience, passion and vision, creativity and operational expertise. We need the next generation of social innovators. Through the Challenge, our organizations will share the lessons we’ve learned from decades of backing companies, leaders, and ideas with the next generation of social innovators as they explore areas of opportunity, develop ideas of their own, and launch social ventures in the areas of: Health, Workforce Development, Financial Inclusion, Food & Agriculture, and Energy. Top teams will be invited to join the Student Social Enterprise Accelerator online beginning 1/27. Winning teams will receive up to $20,000 from a funding pool of $100,000. Register for the virtual competition here.

Register for Lean Startup online course before Tues, 10/15; complete course and submit your social venture idea before Tues, 11/26.

Remote/Edinburgh – Clinton Global Initiative University – Student Leader

September 12, 2019 / Olivia Reneau

The Clinton Global Initiative University is looking for higher education student leaders who are committed to take action in their community to address a pressing challenge. We are looking for undergraduate and graduate students across the world who are motivated to make a positive change in the areas of education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health. Students accepted into CGI U will participate in a year-round program that includes access to: high-touch mentorship; a social impact curriculum; funding streams; and student engagement events, including an invitation to the annual meeting from April 17-19 at the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland. Learn more at their website.

Applications will be reviewed by the CGI U Selection Committee. All applicants, Early Deadline and Final Deadline, will be notified of admissions decisions in early November 2019. The CGI U Selection Committee aims to convene a diverse cohort of students that demonstrate the motivation to tackle specific challenges, the capacity to develop their leadership skills, and dedication to CGI U’s yearlong program.

Please note, you are eligible to apply to the CGI U Class of 2020 if you have never previously been accepted to CGI U, you are at least 18 years of age, and you are currently enrolled in an institution of higher education at the time of application. Apply to the program here.