Calling All Michigan Collegiate Entrepreneurs! Your Chance at $1 Million is Running Out...

DETROIT, Sept. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The chance at more than $1 million in cash prizes will soon run out for Michigan's collegiate innovators. The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition has announced that its student application process will be closing on September 27, 2012.

Students with creative and innovative ideas currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs in a Michigan public or private university or college for the fall 2012 semester can apply here. Additional details regarding eligibility can be found on the Accelerate Michigan website.

Did You Know?

• Michigan is currently ranked No. 3 in the United States in engineering degrees.
• Each year, Michigan on average is provided more than $1.8 billion in university research funding from the U.S. government.
• In 2011, the University of Michigan's tech transfer office recorded 101 licenses and options, filed for 122 patents, resulting in the launch of 11 new companies.
• According to the AUTM, the University of Michigan ranked among the top 20 U.S. universities in tech transfer performance in both 2010 and 2011.
• In the past decade, technologies developed in Michigan-based higher education faculty labs have spawned 92 highly successful startups.

About the Competition
The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition – North America's largest business competition – is an international business contest aimed at fostering entrepreneurial growth throughout Michigan's vibrant business community. The competition is focused on two tracks: International and U.S. businesses relocating to Michigan and Michigan collegiate students.

"We in Michigan take extreme pride in our higher-education system, especially the impact our students are having on driving innovation and entrepreneurship in the state," said Jeff Mason, executive director for the University Research Corridor. "Our students are essential to Michigan pushing forward as the driving force behind high-tech innovation in the Midwest. With the help of Accelerate Michigan, the world's next big entrepreneurial stars may very well rise from the likes of East Lansing, Ann Arbor or Detroit."

Competition Timeline

• Submission deadline for established start-ups has passed as of August 15, 2012
• Applications for student-led projects are due by September 27, 2012
• Semi-final investor pitches will begin on November 14, 2012 at the Westin Book Cadillac in downtown Detroit.
• The Competition Finals and Gala Awards Celebration will be held the evening of November 15, 2012 at Detroit's historic Orchestra Hall, where Accelerate Michigan and its partners will award more than $1 million in cash prizes, along with millions more of in-kind awards, to those businesses showing the most promise.

This year's judging panel will include experts from Michigan-based investment firms, companies and universities, as well as national and regional investors and venture capitalists. In addition to prizes, competition participants will have access to Michigan's entrepreneurial eco-system, including wet labs, incubators and top talent from some of the world's leading research universities.

About Accelerate Michigan and Its Partner Organizations

About Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition
The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is an international business competition offering more than $1 million in cash prizes, plus thousands in in-kind awards. The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is a collaborative effort of the Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan, the New Economy Initiative of Southeast Michigan and Accelerate Michigan.  For more information, visit www.acceleratemichigan.org.

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About Business Leaders for Michigan
Business Leaders for Michigan – the state's business round-table – is dedicated to making Michigan a "Top Ten" state for job, economic and personal income growth. The organization is composed exclusively of the chairpersons, chief executive officers, or most senior executives of Michigan's largest companies and universities, which contribute nearly 25% of the state's economy and provide over 320,000 jobs in Michigan, generate over $1 Trillion in annual revenue and serve over 135,000 students. Find out more at: www.businessleadersformichigan.com.

About the Michigan Economic Development Corporation 21st Century Jobs Fund
Funds for the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition were provided by the 21st Century Jobs Fund, a Michigan Strategic Fund program designed to accelerate the growth and diversification of Michigan's economy. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation ("MEDC"), a public-private partnership between the state and local communities, provides administrative support for the 21st Century Jobs Fund. The MEDC markets Michigan and provides the tools and environment to drive job creation and investment. For more information on the 21st Century Jobs Fund initiative, visit www.MichiganAdvantage.org.

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/.

SOURCE Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition