August 29, 2013
Innovation is the theme of Saluki Idea Competition
CARBONDALE, Ill. – SIU Carbondale students can show how creative, innovative and entrepreneurial they are by entering the 2013 Saluki Idea Competition.
The competition offers students and student-led teams a chance to showcase their ideas for new products and services. They can win prizes by submitting commercially viable, technology-based ideas that relate to the theme “Innovating for Impact.” All entries should have a positive social or environmental impact.
The competition is open for submissions; entry deadline is Oct. 4.
“We were very pleased with the number, quality and innovative nature of the ideas submitted by our students last year,” said Jeff Myers, senior technology transfer specialist with the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research. “We are working to increase the size and scope of the competition this year.”
All entries will be online and the public can vote via the Internet. Finalists will make three-minute “elevator pitch” presentations to highlight their ideas before a panel of expert judges at the Technology and Innovation Expo on Oct. 25 at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center. The finals begin at 3 p.m. with the winning entries announced starting at 4 p.m.
The grand prize is $500. The runner-up prize is $200, and there are three, $50 honorable mention awards.
The 2012 competition drew 13 diverse entries, with the grand prize going to “EcoLight,” a product concept that powers streetlights through a combination of solar energy and kinetic energy acquired through low-profile roadway rumble strips.
For complete contest rules and details, visit http://siu.launcht.com. More information is also available by contacting Amy McMorrow Hunter with the University’s Technology Transfer Office at 618/453-4556.