Innovation Sprints challenge teams of students to flex their interdisciplinary skills and talents to come up with viable solutions to actual problems or questions posed by business leaders from local organizations, by offices on campus, or by faculty members. These fast-paced, engaging events are similar in format to a “hackathon” – but without the need for technical expertise.

The Panasci Technology Entrepreneurship Competition (Panasci TEC) brings together UB students from all academic disciplines to pool their talents and create viable businesses in Western New York. The competition for seed funding and in-kind support celebrates business concepts in their earliest stages of ideation and centers around sound technologies and innovations that address local and global problems. 

An 80,000-word thesis would take nine hours to present. We want it done in three minutes. The Graduate School and Startup & Innovation CoLab powered by Blackstone LaunchPad host the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, in which PhD students are asked to effectively explain their research in three minutes using language tailored to a non-specialist audience. Participants earn a unique and invaluable chance to perfect their presentation and research communication skills, and winners walk away with cash prizes.

This pitch competition provides UB students with the opportunity to pitch their idea for cash prizes. Students have 90 seconds to talk about their idea—without props, presentations or note cards. Finalists pitch their idea before a live audience for a chance to win up to $1,500. 

The WNY Student 2 Biz Challenge is a collaboration of Western New York colleges and universities to promote entrepreneurship. Student teams compete in the following categories:

• Information technology/software.
• Social entrepreneurship/nonprofit.
• Clean technology.
• Advanced technology.
• Products.
• Services.

The WNY Student 2 Biz Challenge encourages graduate and undergraduate students to submit business plans for a student-born innovation that addresses a currently unmet need. Each group must have a faculty advisor. Winning teams from the regional event in are invited to pitch their venture to an external panel of investor judges at the New York Business Plan Competition for a chance to win more than $500,000 in prizes.

Need some funding to get your idea off the ground? Monthly Get Seeded! pitch events are for aspiring student entrepreneurs. Sign up to pitch live at the event, where the audience decides who gets funded! 

Startup Boot Camp is a 3-day experience held just before each semester starts. Learn from experienced founders, conduct sales experiments and pitch your idea for prizes!