VCU news

By Frances Dumenci

The Virginia Commonwealth University’s da Vinci Center for Innovation, a collaboration of VCU's Schools of the Arts, Business, Engineering and Humanities & Sciences, is hosting the inaugural Venture Creation Competition (VCC), a business plan competition aimed at sparking the entrepreneurial spirit of all VCU students.

The VCC is being held as part of VCU’s Student Research Week, a series of events that bring together undergraduate and graduate students from across disciplines to celebrate research and creative and scholarly projects. For the competition, students submitted ideas, concepts and/or technologies for a business venture. Five student teams have been selected as finalists and will have the opportunity to present their concept and/or business venture to a panel of judges.

The event will take place Friday, April 27, in Snead Hall, 301 W. Main Street, Room B3114, from 1 to 5 p.m. A reception will begin at 4 p.m. in the School of Business, Snead Hall, Atrium, followed by the awards ceremony at 5 p.m.  

The finalists are competing for cash prizes that can be used to further the commercialization of their concepts, inventions and/or business ideas. In addition to the prize money, in-kind services, including free legal and mentoring services, will be offered to competition winners.

The competition is sponsored by the VCU Office of the Vice President of Research, VCU School of Business, MeadWestvaco Foundation and Motley’s Richmond Auto Auction. For more information about the competition, visit http://www.davincicenter.vcu.edu/programs/vcc/.