Last year, more than 140 student teams competed in the State System’s annual Student Business Plan Competition. I had the honor to see firsthand some of the incredible ingenuity and imagination of our students. As examples, a student from Shippensburg was part of the winning team that created Oak Hill Farm Naturals—an all-natural fly repellant for use on horses. The second place winners, also from Shippensburg, developed new recreational facility management software. The third place winner, an IUP student, created the Dirt-Doc— a user-friendly search engine to advertise the buying and selling of topsoil or other earth products.
So much hard work goes into these business plans, but the benefits are well worth it. Not only do students get the opportunity to work with faculty and business mentors to fine tune every detail of their plans, but they also get to hone “real world” skills such as team building, public speaking, and strategic planning. Of course, prizes include $10,000 for 1st place, $5,000 for 2nd place, and $2,500 for 3rd place.
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