EVENT: The fifth annual Idea to Product® Global Competition at The University of Texas at Austin.
WHEN: Feedback rounds with judge panels will be held Friday, Nov. 2 from 9 a.m.-noon. Challenge (semi-final) rounds will be held on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 9 a.m.-noon, followed by the championship round from 2-5 p.m.
WHERE: The Texas Union on the university campus (For a map of The University of Texas at Austin, go to www.utexas.edu/maps/). The three concurrent feedback rounds Friday and the challenge rounds Saturday morning will be held in adjacent rooms 3.502, 3.208 and 3.304; the championship round Saturday, in 3.502.
BACKGROUND: Student teams from 15 universities and six countries will compete in the Idea to Product® (I2P®) Global Competition for $25,000 in prizes by presenting technology commercialization plans. Among this year’s product plans to be reviewed by expert judges are: a zero-emission car that incorporates mechanical, solar and wind power, and a cancer drug search method using fruit flies. The fly approach would provide an inexpensive and very powerful system for examining potential drugs in a complex biological system. The I2P® Program has served as a stepping stone for innovative entrepreneurship, with research programs and new ventures created by the work of past teams. The Idea to Product® Global Competition is hosted by the Cockrell School of Engineering, the College of Natural Sciences, the Murchison Chair of Free Enterprise, several engineering departments and student organizations. This global competition developed from the I2P® UT Austin local competition, which began in 2001 and occurs each spring on campus. The success of the local and global competitions in Austin has led to six similar competitions elsewhere in the United States, and in Asia, Africa and Europe. For more information on the Nov. 3 global competition and its supporters, go to: www.ideatoproduct.org. To view a live webcast of one of Saturday’s semi-final rounds and the final rounds, go to: www.ideatoproduct.org/int/competitionarchives/videos.cfm.
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About the Cockrell School of Engineering:
The Cockrell School ranks among the top ten engineering programs in the United States and aspires to move into the top five. With the nation's fourth highest number of faculty members elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the Cockrell School's more than 7,000 students work with many of the world's finest engineering educators and researchers. This environment prepares graduates to become engineering leaders and innovators working for the betterment of society.