Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition Announces 28 Student/Student Teams as Semi-Finalists for the Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition

DETROIT, Nov. 24, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, an international business competition designed to highlight Michigan as a robust and vibrant venue for innovation and business opportunity announced today that it has chosen its 28 student/student team semi-finalists for the Accelerate Michigan Student Competition. The competition will award $50,000 to students with the best and brightest new business ideas and concepts.

The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition received nearly 600 entries, which were split evenly between the business and student portions of the competition. Entries were received from college and university students representing every corner of the state with the bulk of the entries coming from Wayne State University and the University of Michigan.

Open to any undergraduate or graduate student attending a Michigan college or university in the fall of 2010, the Accelerate Michigan Student idea competition sought top business ideas and concepts submitted by Michigan students. All participants were required to submit a one-page business idea. The 28 semi-finalists will submit a three minute video pitch and a fifteen minute in-person pitch.

"The nearly 300 entries submitted by Michigan college and university students represent the mounting spirit of entrepreneurism in our young business leaders," said Doug Rothwell, President of Business Leaders for Michigan, an organization co-sponsoring the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. "Their ideas and innovative approach to cultivating business are vital to transforming Michigan's economy and making it a 'top ten' state for job growth."

"Michigan college and university students have proved through the Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition that they are prepared to compete in a marketplace where innovation and forward thinking are the key drivers for advancement and success," said Dr. David Spencer, executive director of the Macomb-OU INCubator. "These 28 student semi-finalists are a prime example of the drive and determination of young people throughout Michigan to reignite the entrepreneurial spirit."

Semi-finalists will be narrowed down to 10 finalists just prior to the culmination of the competition 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 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 premier sponsors is Accelerate Michigan.

For more information about the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, 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 Accelerate Michigan

The mission of Accelerate Michigan is to create a distinctive partnership between Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) and Michigan's University Research Corridor (URC).  By uniting Michigan's largest businesses and universities together, Accelerate Michigan aims to place Michigan among the "Top Ten" states for accelerating economic transformation and cultivating entrepreneurism based on mutually beneficial values, investments and activities. http://www.acceleratemichigan.com/

SOURCE Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan