UT students have the opportunity to participate in Global Entrepreneurial Week, an international project designed to advance “entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity,” from Nov. 16-22.
Global Entrepreneurial Week will incorporate 75 different countries this year, linking various events at the local, national and global levels and encouraging people to innovate and create positive change for their community and the world.
“Success comes to people who see things others miss, who find creative solutions to problems, turning those problems into opportunities,” Tom Graves, operations director for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the College of Business Administration, said. “The Global Innovation Tournament provides students the opportunity to develop and practice those innovation skills.”
This initiative, sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Make Your Mark campaign, will include thousands of events across the world. The state of Tennessee has decided to take part in the program, and there are numerous ways for students to get involved.
One event, the Global Innovation Tournament (GIT), has grown in popularity since its debut at Stanford University. This competition encourages students to resourcefully produce a solution to a designated issue.
“Innovation is at the core of entrepreneurship, and we saw this competition as another vehicle for students to experience how innovation can spark new ideas for entrepreneurial endeavors,” Joy Fisher, director of the UT Research Foundation, said.
A problem will be released on Nov. 4, and students in teams will have eight days to generate a solution and present their solution in a short video. For the local competition, student entries will be due on the tournament’s Web site on Nov. 13 and will be reviewed by the Innovation Valley Tech Council on Nov. 18.
The assembled group of local business leaders will choose the best three entries for submission to the global competition. These results will be available Dec. 3.
“From the competition standpoint, all students need to do is form teams, register on the Web site (referenced in the press release) and be ready to unleash their creativity when the problem is announced on Nov. 4,” Fisher said.
This competition offers UT students an exciting opportunity to develop valuable experience for fields involving research, innovation and problem solving.
“In addition to potentially identifying new opportunities for entrepreneurial businesses, students will get connected into resources here at the university as well as across the U. S. that can help them as they consider an entrepreneurial path upon graduation,” Fisher said.
Along with GIT, the state of Tennessee is hosting several other events as well.
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and the Tennessee Main Street Program are sponsoring a video competition for state residents ages 18 and older.
Students can submit a short video answering the question, “What makes you an entrepreneur?” by Nov. 8. The contest winner will be announced during Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Last year, the state of Tennessee alone sponsored 30 different events, and there are many opportunities to get involved in Global Entrepreneurship Week at the national and global level.
