competitions:

  • STUDENT STARTUP MADNESS-DUE December 6, 2019 Student Startup Madness is a nationwide tournament-style competition for college student digital media startups, culminating with national finals at South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive in March. 

  • RICE BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION - DUE January 27, 2020 The Rice Business Plan Competition is the world's richest and largest graduate-level student startup competition. It is hosted and organized by the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University and the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Rice University's internationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of entrepreneurship. This is the 19th year for the competition. In that time, it has grown from nine teams competing for $10,000 in prize money in 2001, to 42 teams from around the world competing for more than $1.5 million in cash and prizes.

  • NEW VENTURE CHAMPIONSHIP APPLICATION-DUE February 12, 2020 Teams from elite universities come to Portland every year to pitch their venture plans and vie for more than $50,000 in cash prizes. The competition is the Pacific Northwest's original six-round business competition, setting the standard followed by others.

  • BIG BANG! BUSINESS COMPETITION APPLICATION-DUE February 21, 2020 UC DAVIS' annual Big Bang! Business Competition provides a forum for UC Davis and the broader community to collaborate, develop and test business visions and plans. The Big Bang! provides a rich immersion for students, faculty, researchers and community members interested in starting or growing a business venture. In addition to the competition, the Big Bang! offers a comprehensive series of workshops for building entrepreneurial skills. Final registration deadline is February 21, 2020 by 11:59 p.m. 

  • EXTREME TECH CHALLENGE- DUE March 31, 2020 The Extreme Tech Challenge is the world’s largest start up competition with an all star judging panel spearheaded by Sir Richard Branson as our anchor judge and the world’s largest consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, CES, as a strategic partner for the semi-finals.

  • eMERGE STARTUP SHOWCASE APPLICATIONS- Currently Closed Think you might be on to something big? Showcase your innovation at eMerge Americas and compete with over 100 startups from around the globe. With hundreds of angel investors and venture capitalists on the EXPO floor, the exposure alone is powerful. Winning has its perks, too—a suite of prizes. Registration for the 2019 Startup Showcase is now open. Selected startups will be announced on February 22, 2019. 

  • MILKEN-PENN GSE EDUCATION BUSINESS PLAN-Currently Closed The Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition (EBPC) is open to applicants worldwide and offers a tremendous opportunity to entrepreneurs and investors alike. With a rich history of success, the EBPC has awarded over $1,000,000 in cash prizes since 2010, and winners and finalists have gone on to raise more than $135 million in additional funding. Through its dynamic ecosystem, the EBPC celebrates meaningful innovations that address persistent and emerging problems in education. Submit your education venture at for the opportunity to win a share of $100,000 in cash prizes.

  • MAP THE SYSTEM CHALLENGE Map the System asks participants to use 'systems thinking' as a guiding approach to understanding complex social and environmental challenges. Participants create systems maps as a means to articulate their findings in a way that people can meaningfully understand, share, and learn from - key skillsets for those interested in creating systemic and sustainable social or environmental change.

join an incubator program:

  • - Application January 10, 2020

  • - Application Deadline January 24th 2020

  • - Application Deadline January 31, 2020

  • - Application reopens in February 2020

  • - Applications currently closed

  • - Applications currently closed

  • - Various deadline

  • - Various opportunities

Learn more about some of the exciting ventures started by UVA students: