In the News
UA Team Wins prestigious boston business plan competition
June 1, 2010
FAYETTEVILLE — A team of University of Arkansas students who created a business plan for a more efficient manufacturing process of solar cells has won first place at the Licensing Executives Society Foundation Graduate Student Business Plan Competition.
The competition was held in Boston, Mass., on May 18, in conjunction with the Licensing Executives Society USA and Canada and Licensing Executives Society International annual meeting. The Silicon Solar Solutions LLC team won a cash prize of $10,000 and in-kind prizes provided by donors valued at $40,000.
The UA team competed against four other finalists, selected from 40 entries from around the world, including the University of Pennsylvania, University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, and Duke University.
Read more on Silicon Solar Solutions on the jump.
AgRobotics Names Charles Mitchell New COO
June 1, 2010
AgRobotics has named Charles V. Michell, Jr., its president and COO, the North Little Rock firm announced Tuesday.
AgRobotics, founded in 2006, manufactures and distributes the world’s first on-the-go soil sample collection technology.
Read more on AgRobotics on the jump.
UA entrepreneurs win big at Tri-State Competition
May 24, 2010
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Two teams from the University of Arkansas won the Graduate and Undergraduate tracks at the Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Award competition held May 19 at Red Rock Casino and Resort in Las Vegas.
InnerVision, LLC, and Arkansas Auto-Fluff each took home $25,000 in cash prizes for their first-place finishes. BiologicsMD, also from the University of Arkansas, was awarded second place in the Graduate Track, and UniPHI from the University of Oklahoma finished second in the Undergraduate division.
Read more on the UA’s win at Tri-State on the jump.
UA’s BiologicsMD wins University of Texas Moot Corp Competition
May 10, 2010
Global Moot Corp tonight announced the Global Champion of its competition is BiologicsMD, a team from the University of Arkansas, developing a new prescription medicine for the treatment of osteoporosis. Biologics MD is developing OsteoFlorTM, a new prescription medicine for the treatment of osteoporosis, based on research developed at the University of Arkansas. OsteoFlorTM binds directly to the bone, nearly tripling new bone growth.
Paul Mlakar, President of BiologicsMD said “It’s a great honor to have won this prestigious competition, and we look forward to following the path of other winners in launching our company.”
Read the official Moot Corp BiologicsMD press release on the jump.
Gov. mike beebe’s weekly column and radio address: real world education
April 23, 2010
Any education is not complete without establishing a practical application in real-life situations for what that person learns. Our students can take classes in broad subjects like math, English, or science. But in order to grasp the importance of this information and these skills in their lives beyond school, students must have the chance to employ those skills in a real-world setting.
Read the rest of the Governor’s column by downloading “Real World Education.”
UA wins business plan contest: Graduate, undergraduate entrepreneurs take $20k in prizes
April 20, 2010
LITTLE ROCK — Two teams from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville won the graduate and undergraduate awards Monday in the 10th annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup business plan competition.
InnerVision LLC, which helps power-generation companies improve their maintenance, won the graduate division. Arkansas Auto Fluff, which recycles plastic from junked automobiles, won inthe undergraduate division. Each team received $20,000.
For the complete story, download “UA Wins Business Plan Contest.”
University of Arkansas takes five of six top spots at Governor’s Cup
April 19, 2010
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Three graduate teams and two undergraduate teams from the University of Arkansas took the top places in the 10th annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup business plan competition, held on April 19.
In the graduate division, InnerVision, LLC won first place and $20,000 as well as the AT&T Innovation award for $5,000. Team members include Elizabeth Slape, Jeff Veltkamp, Annelie Recking and Anoop Prasanna, all Master of Business Administration students in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, and Bryon Western, a master’s student in the College of Engineering microelectronics-photonics program. InnerVision’s trademarked product, the Smart Turbine Blade, enables power-generation facilities to radically change their maintenance programs and save billions of dollars each year on interval-based maintenance.
For the rest of the story, download “University of Arkansas takes five of top six spots.”
Employment opportunity: growing enrollment in entrepreneurship classes
April 18, 2010
Business professors nationwide and in Arkansas are reporting the growing trend. Carol Reeves, an associate professor of management at the University of Arkansas’ Walton College of Business, says entrepreneurship programs have been the fastest growing major at universities. This, as the national unemployment rate hovers at 10 percent, and investment banks and Wall Street firms aren’t hiring as many business school graduates as they once did.
For the rest of the story, download, “Employment Opportunity.”
tech students compete in governor’s cup competition
April 6, 2010
Arkansas Tech University students will compete against eleven other teams in the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Competition on Thursday.
During the competition the Arkansas Tech team, which includes Samuel Collier, Zachary Massey, James Roberson and Ryan Treadwell, will present their business plan for a fictitious company before a panel of judges.
The company is entitled EM Innovation and is a phone applications company that would send out an alert in the event of severe weather.
For the rest of the story, download “Arkansas Tech students compete in Governor’s Cup.”
ualr makes reynolds cup finals with business plan for innovation
april 6, 2010
LITTLE ROCK – A UALR team developing a business plan to market a method of determining acetaminophen toxicity will make its oral presentation for two awards in the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup business plan competition Thursday and Friday, April 8 and 9.
The three-member team – Acetaminophen Toxicity Diagnostics, LLC – is made up of UALR College of Business students and is one of five finalists for the Governor’s Cup and is up for the innovation category in the graduate division.
The Arkansas Governor’s Cup award ceremony is April 19. If the UALR team wins, it will move to the tri-state competition in Las Vegas May 18-20.
For the rest of the story, download a pdf of the article or follow the link to Arkansas Business.com.
governor’s cup enters homestretch
March 19, 2010
Several budding capitalists were recently chosen to participate in the next round of the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Graduate and Undergraduate Business Plan Competition. A total of 12 undergraduate and five graduate teams will advance beyond the 50 groups representing 14 schools that entered the statewide contest.
“Our goal has always been to encourage the development and commercialization of ideas and technologies originating in Arkansas universities,” Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation executive director Kerri Daniels said in a brief announcement. “Year after year, we see some amazing ideas and a lot of talent right here.”
For the rest of the story, download a pdf of the article or follow the link to Arkansas Business.com.
OBU Inaugural Business Plan Competition offers practical experience
March 9, 2010
Ouachita Baptist University’s Hickingbothom School of Business recently held its inaugural Business Plan Competition. Participating students formed teams or worked individually under the supervision of a faculty member to create a start-up company for rewards of up to $4,000.
“These students submitted ‘real’ business plans, the same type of plan that one would produce prior to seeking funds from a private investor or banker,” said Bryan McKinney, dean of OBU’s Hickingbothom School of Business.
For the rest of the story, follow the link to OBU’s news site.
finalists announced for governor’s cup business plan competition
March 10, 2010
Teams of university students throughout Arkansas were selected recently to compete in the next round of the state’s premier business plan competition beginning April 9.
Teams from eight Arkansas universities were announced as the finalists in the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Graduate and Undergraduate Business Plan Competition Friday in the competition’s 10th-anniversary year. Twelve undergraduate and five graduate teams will advance to the next level out of 50 teams representing 14 schools that submitted business plans in the statewide competition.
In the next round, the 12 advancing semi-finalist undergraduate teams will make a 20-minute presentation after which they will answer questions from judges for 15 minutes. Two five-judge panels will determine the six finalist undergraduate teams.
“We’re proud to celebrate the 10th year of this entrepreneurial competition,” said Kerri Daniels, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation. “Our goal has always been to encourage the development and commercialization of ideas and technologies originating in Arkansas universities. Year after year, we see some amazing ideas and a lot of talent right here.”
For the rest of the story, download a pdf of the article or follow the link to Arkansas Business’ website.