The Purdue Research Park Entrepreneurship Academy on Tuesday (May 18) was named as the Incubator Innovation Award winner at the National Business Incubator Association's (NBIA) 24th International Conference on Business Incubation held in Orlando.
The three-year-old program, which introduces Indiana high school juniors and seniors to entrepreneurial processes and creating startups, has been honored for its work in advancing entrepreneurship and business incubation in young people.
"To capture the entrepreneurial imagination of these Indiana high school students, my colleagues at the Purdue Research Park and our community volunteers are diligent in guaranteeing we provide the best possible resources and cover a wide range of subject areas," said Timothy Peoples, director of the Purdue Research Park Entrepreneurship Academy. "This recognition from NBIA confirms we are on the right track in helping students better understand the entrepreneurial process."
During the weeklong Purdue Research Park Entrepreneurship Academy, Indiana high school juniors and seniors work in teams on business cases to determine the best way for a business to compete, identify capital needs and devise a plan to manage the business. On the final day, teams give a 15-minute investor pitch to a panel of judges in a business plan competition setting. The winning teams receive Purdue tuition vouchers.
More than 130 students have attended the academy, and more than $13,000 has been awarded in vouchers since the inaugural event in 2007. The next Purdue Research Park Entrepreneurship Academy will be June 20-26.
Finalists in the NBIA competition were judged on multiple criteria, including the innovation's impact on clients or the nominating organization, creativity and financial management. The other finalist was "Commercial Reality - Fostering an Entrepreneurial Spirit and a Culture that Supports Commercialization in a Research University" from the Arizona Center for Innovation in Tucson.
Also during the NBIA conference, three Purdue Research Park officials led two 75-minute programming sessions:
- "Enhancing Your Client Advisory Services Process," led by John Hanak, director of the Purdue Technology Centers, and Peoples, along with Rick Solomon of RAN ONE Americas in Stony Brook, N.Y.
- "Youth Entrepreneurship - Launching Tomorrow's Leaders," led by Peoples and Juliana Spiker, Entrepreneurship Academy coordinator, along with Wendy Kennedy of Ottawa, Canada.
About the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette
The 725-acre Purdue Research Park (http://www.purdueresearchpark.com) has the largest university-affiliated business incubation complex in the country. The park is home to more than 160 companies. About 100 of these firms are technology-related and another 39 are incubator businesses. The park is owned and managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation created to assist Purdue University in the area of economic development. In addition to the Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette, the foundation has established technology parks in other locations around Indiana including Indianapolis, Merrillville and New Albany.