Six teams featuring 12 University of North Georgia students, including two from Cumming and one from Gainesville, will compete in the innovateUNG Pitch Challenge Feb. 20. They will be competing for a cash prize and the right to advance to the statewide competition in April.
Full-time degree-seeking undergraduate students will present their inventions before a group of experienced and successful entrepreneurs, financiers and business professionals. The winning team will advance to the Georgia InVenture Prize event set for April 3-4, where it will compete against teams from other colleges and universities in Georgia.
"It really is going to bring to light the progress that we've made in the entrepreneurship program at UNG and how it has grown and how the excitement has begun to pick up," said Dr. Ruben Boling, director of UNG's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
UNG President Bonita Jacobs echoed that excitement.
"UNG has encouraged entrepreneurship for years, among our students and in the region, and the new Georgia InVenture Prize competition is an opportunity to showcase how innovative and resourceful our students are," Jacobs said. "I am very pleased with our students' enthusiasm for this competition, and I look forward to seeing their creations."
Prizes for the state competition will include $25,000 for first place; $15,000 for second place; $10,000 for People's Choice Award; and in-kind professional services such as legal assistance for U.S. patent filings, professional accounting services or acceptance into business accelerator programs.
You can read more about the UNG teams and their innovations by clicking here.
