EDITORIAL: New Venture gives students hands-on learning opportunity, brings culture of enterprise to CMU
Clinton Township senior David Wong,left, and Grosse Pointe senior Analisa Guido,right, receive a check for Best Lifestyle Venture on March 24 at McGuirk Arena.
From a multi-nozzle, temperature-sensing 3-D printer to an on-campus mobile emergency alert phone app to a thermal bra made to help women who have had a mastectomy, the ingenious minds of New Venture 2017 did not disappoint us.
We think New Venture, hosted by the College of Business Administration in partnership with Isabella Bank, continues to be a way of bringing student entrepreneurship to life while building a culture of innovation at CMU.
In many ways, New Venture is a business incubator for student entrepreneurs to gain hands-on experience at developing a product and starting a business. It proves how beneficial it is for academic colleges and departments at CMU to provide students with active learning opportunities outside of the classroom. The lessons students learn at New Venture are ones that can't be taught sitting in lecture or reading a textbook.
Competing in New Venture is real-world work with a real-world payoff.
The competition awarded more than $77,000 in startup capital to student teams this year — real money students will use to continue developing their ideas.
Since its beginnings in 2011, New Venture has contributed more than $500,000 toward funding student startups. According to the New Venture website, more than 15 businesses are still in operation and thriving years after competing.
In addition to cash prizes, New Venture gives students the chance to network with experienced investors and entrepreneurs from around the world. Even if a team didn't win the $30,000 prize, competitors still had the chance to learn about the resources available to them, such as the Central Michigan University Research Corporation, which can help grow their startup.
With their mentors' guidance and a bit of healthy competition, students are supported and encouraged to create something special. They can achieve something they might not have done on their own. New Venture incentivizes student entrepreneurs to bring their very best to put before judges each year.
It brings a sense of ingenuity, innovation and enterprise to Central Michigan University.
You'll never know what impact your ideas can make unless you take a risk.
Build something. Create a useful phone application or new website.
Compete in New Venture. Share your idea with the world.
