Daily Reporter Staff Reports
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana high school students are invited to apply for the 2019 Innovate WithIN™ pitch competition, a statewide initiative hosted by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), Indiana Department of Education (DOE) and Ball State University.
Student teams may submit video pitches online before Feb. 6, 2019.
New to this year’s program, middle school students interested in entrepreneurship are invited to register for workshops offered at the regional competitions in early 2019.
Now in its second year, Innovate WithIN™ gives Hoosier students the opportunity to create their own business plans and showcase entrepreneurial ideas throughout the state. The overall state winners will each receive a $10,000 cash prize, $10,000 toward one year of in-state tuition, internship opportunities and mentoring services.
Participants are invited to work individually or in small groups to submit an innovative idea for a business, product, service or venture. Students will then receive feedback from experienced professionals while competing against like-minded youth from across Indiana through three rounds: video pitch submissions are due Feb. 6; regional pitch competitions will be held from March 4 through 15; the final round, the state pitch competition, will be held in April.
After completing video pitches and regional competitions, the finalists from each region will be invited to Indianapolis for the final round of the competition, pitching their ideas to a panel of judges from Indiana’s entrepreneurial community.
In 2018, the inaugural Innovate WithIN™ competition drew 86 applicants from more than 290 students across more than 65 high schools. The winners, Colin Wareham and Jackson Ramey from Noblesville High School, created a set of board games called Educaid designed to help students learn principles of entrepreneurship, marketing and management. Wareham, Ramey and the other finalists received mentoring services through the StartEdUp Foundation to help develop and execute the students’ ideas through its network of mentors and advisors.
More information about all stage of the competition can be found at innovatewithin.org.
