It’s Competition Season!

September 19, 2018

This academic year is finally in full swing and now we’re all headed into competition season! While entrepreneurship happens year-round at USC, there is always a cluster of innovation and business prizes up for grabs in the fall.

Typically, any team that consists of at least one USC student can apply to the internal competitions. Most of them are also open to the public, so anybody can checkout the amazing start-ups incubating on campus. If you have an idea or innovation that you would like to pitch to investors, it’s time to gear up!

Here are a few of the upcoming events to look out for:

Center for Body Computing’s SLAM Competition – uscbodycomputing.org/2018-slam-competition: This year’s SLAM is focusing on developing service-based technologies that can be customized and catered to shift consumer behavior in healthcare. There are many challenges in this field, and digital health tools have the potential to solve many of them. Head over to see the presentations on September 27th, 2018 and root for one of the final four teams to win $10,000. I’ll be there competing as one of them!

Stevens Student Innovator Showcase – stevens.usc.edu/events/student-innovator-showcase: Now in its 12th year on campus, the USC Stevens Center for Innovation will be hosting over 20 teams and awarding over $30,000 in prizes. Applications to participate have now passed, but head out to see all of the teams on Friday, October 12th, 2018 to learn about the latest ventures at our school.

Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition (MEPC) – viterbiinnovation.usc.edu/mepc: This marathon of a competition is Viterbi’s flagship program. Applicants must provide a short business model summary and identify market opportunity. Throughout the 6-month competition, each team receives funds for customer discovery and gain insight from a wealth of professors, venture capitalists, and industry experts. The grand prize is a whopping $50,000 to start your business! Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the information session tomorrow, anyone can still apply online by October 15th, 2018.

Students Uniting for Real Impact to Society through Engineering (SUNRISE) – viterbiinnovation.usc.edu/sunrise: In partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Viterbi is inviting students to engineer technologies that aid in preventative health for vulnerable populations. Applications are due October 31st, 2018 with the final showcase on March 25th, 2019.

Amazon Alexa Prize – viterbiinnovation.usc.edu/alexa: Viterbi is piloting a new prize this year in conjunction with Amazon! If you have an idea for a voice-enabled application, this is the competition for you. Like MEPC, each team will receive funding for customer discovery and be mentored by leaders working at Amazon. Send a notice of participation by January 15th, 2019.

Published on September 19th, 2018

Last updated on April 1st, 2021


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