Calling all Michigan College and University Students -Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition Deadline Approaching Fast

DETROIT, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Students currently enrolled at a Michigan college or university have until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, October 22 to enter their best and brightest new business idea in the Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition.  The Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition winner will be awarded $25,000; an additional $25,000 in cash prizes and in-kind awards are also available to student winners.

Open to any undergraduate or graduate student attending a Michigan college or university in the fall of 2010, the Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition will award up to $50,000 to the top business ideas and concepts submitted by Michigan students. All participants are required to submit a one-page business idea. Semifinalists will submit then be required to submit a three minute video pitch and formulate a fifteen minute in-person pitch.

The competition culminates with a gala awards brunch in Ann Arbor on Saturday Dec. 11, 2010. The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition concludes with the University of Michigan vs. Michigan State University "Big Chill" hockey game at Michigan Stadium.  

The Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition is a component of the larger Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. The competition offers more than $1 million in cash awards, plus in-kind awards of services, staffing and software to the best and brightest new business concepts from local and global entrepreneurs. Winning entrepreneurs are required to locate their growing business in Michigan.

The New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan granted Ann Arbor SPARK $750,000 to launch the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition on behalf  of the Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan, which is composed of four of the region's key business accelerators – Ann Arbor SPARK, Automation Alley, Macomb-OU INCubator, and TechTown. Joining the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition as partners for event are the University Research Corridor (Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University) and Business Leaders for Michigan.

For more information about the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, including complete rules and eligibility criteria, visit www.acceleratemichigan.org, or connect with the competition via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

About the Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan

The Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan is a region-wide network for building and retaining new business in southeast Michigan. Composed of the region's four key business accelerators – Ann Arbor SPARK, Automation Alley, Macomb-OU INCubator, and TechTown, the organization works collaboratively to share best practices, host events focused on addressing issues and goals that impact southeast Michigan, support business plan development, and leverage funding to grow business in the region.  The Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan is supported through a $3 million grant from the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan.

About The New Economy Initiative

The New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan (NEI) is an innovative philanthropic effort to accelerate the transition of metro Detroit to an innovation-based economy that expands opportunity for all. Ten national, regional and local foundations have committed $100 million to this unprecedented eight-year initiative, including the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (Detroit), the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation (Southfield, Michigan), the Ford Foundation (New York), the Hudson-Webber Foundation (Detroit), the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (Battle Creek, Michigan), the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (Miami), The Kresge Foundation (Troy, Michigan), the McGregor Fund (Detroit), the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (Flint, Michigan), and the Skillman Foundation (Detroit). The participating foundations are leading the implementation and governance of the Initiative. The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, which initiated the collaborative, is serving as its administrative home. For more information, please visit http://neweconomyinitiative.cfsem.org/.

About the University Research Corridor

Michigan's University Research Corridor (URC) is an alliance of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University with a vision to contribute toward the transformation of Michigan's economy.

The URC is among the top R&D clusters in the nation (compared with regions of the USA such as Route 128 in Boston, Research Triangle in North Carolina, and Silicon Valley in Northern California) for producing patents, new business, and graduates with high-tech related degrees needed in growing new fields. In addition, the three universities serve as a magnet in helping to attract new business to the state of Michigan.

About Business Leaders for Michigan

Business Leaders for Michigan (www.BusinessLeadersforMichigan.com), the state's business roundtable, is dedicated to making Michigan a "Top Ten" state for job and economic growth. The organization is composed exclusively of the chairpersons, chief executives or most senior executives of Michigan's largest companies and universities, which provide over 300,000 jobs in Michigan, generate over $1 Trillion in annual revenue and serve over 130,000 students. The organization's work is defined by the Michigan Turnaround Plan, a holistic, fact-based strategy to get Michigan's economy back on track. Visit www.michiganturnaroundplan.com for more information. 

SOURCE Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan