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Home > Featured Stories > Innovation and Discovery > April 2009 > The Future is NowThe Future is Now
We really hope to foster a culture of entrepreneurship right here on campus and make certain that our students know it's okay to get out there and try something new.
Autumn Mauney, associate director for external relations for the Entrepreneurial Initiative at NC State University
Students from an array of NC State colleges and disciplines will be competing for $30,000 in prizes at the inaugural eGames Olympiad.
By Dave Pond, Web Communication
Every day, NC State student achievement soars beyond the borders of that which typically defines the average college experience, ascending to unprecedented heights as our students pursue ideas and concepts that could help revolutionize the world we live in.
This semester alone, a trio of NC State students made significant advances in the development of a low-cost tuberculosis test for possible use in developing nations, while others unveiled elaborate, original fashion designs using state-of-the-art textiles in their work.
"We want to empower our students to be entrepreneurial thinkers, doers, and leaders," said Dr. Tom Miller, executive director of the Entrepreneurship Initiative at NC State.
To that end, the Entrepreneurship Initiative and the eGames Olympiad were created, in hopes of giving students across all colleges and disciplines an avenue to develop and chase down their dreams. Almost 200 students plan to participate in Friday's eGames event.
"This is a really great way for our students to throw their ideas out there in front of real businesspeople and members of the NC State community," said Autumn Mauney, associate director for external relations for the EI. "We really hope to foster a culture of entrepreneurship right here on campus and make certain that NC State students know it's okay to get out there and try something new."
Former NC State computer science professor Marshall Brain (M.S., '89), a noted author, television personality and entrepreneur who founded the online educational resource HowStuffWorks in 1998, will deliver the Olympiad's keynote address in conjunction with the university's semi-annual Entrepreneurs' Lecture Series.
"As we develop many of the things that we've built the Initiative on - such as the Olympiad and the lecture series - we've really tried to take in account what the university's 'Red Means Go' philosophy really means - innovation, creativity and making things happen," Mauney said. "And as an alumnus, Marshall's talk will certainly ring more true for our students, as someone whom they can really relate to."
The money's not bad, either.
Students competing in the Olympiad will vie for $30,000 in cash and prizes, to be handed out across nine different competition categories that spotlight everything from new product designs and business plans to website makeovers and the best use of slogans and logos. The categories are intentionally wide-reaching, Mauney said, to allow entrepreneurially minded students from all colleges and disciplines to compete on common ground.
"We worked hard to make sure that that criteria was broad enough for students to find a place where their ideas would fit, without limiting them in what they could do," she said. "It's events like these where students can really surprise themselves and see how far they can go."
Editor's Note: The eGames Olympiad will be held on Friday, April 24, from noon to 5:30 p.m. at the College of Textiles on NC State's Centennial Campus. The event is free to attend, and open to the public. Pre-registration is encouraged, but not required.
