Students Center for Innovations

SCI News | Events | Seminars | Contests | Past Events

Weekly meetings begin Sept. 3rd, 5:00-7:30 S&T II Room 200

Inventors Boot Camp Series - Learn all the steps to take your idea from concept to market
through an 8-Part Seminar Series each at the beginning of each month through May 2009



We meet in S&T-II room 200 (click here for bldg. location)
5:00-5:15 5:15-7:15 7:15-7:30	Announcements & Developments Everyone Works on Inventions Officers and Project Leaders Meet
The meetings will start at 5pm promptly where we'll go over any developments and announcements until 5:15pm. From 5:15 - 7:15pm we'll break up into smaller, project-specific groups. At 7:15pm, everyone but project leaders and officers will leave, these people will stay for 15 minutes to discuss each project's progress and let the officers know what they need in terms of parts or expertise. As always, if you can only come for a portion of the meeting, please feel free to do so.

ROBOTICS CONFERENCE 2006

SCI News


	SCI News ... Fall 2008 - Wrapping Up the GMU Invention Project We are continuing with the prototype for the semester invention project! It is an interactive map project for the GMU campus. We have the map built and are almost complete with the programming. Contact us for more information. Officers & Advisors We are opening the doors for future officers. Please click here to apply for a position. Community Projects We were contacted by Faquier County Schools to help develop a hands-on project program for their students to provide them opportunities for developing skills in building innovative projects. Please contact us for more informations. High School Students Internship Pilot Program We were contacted by the Community Service Coordinator for the City of Alexandria looking for internship opportunities for high school students. Their program called Project Discovery is a college access program for low-income and/or first generation college-bound students at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va. We discussed it with the club members and decided to start an internship pilot program with a student. The program is going very well and we welcome all GMU students to participate in this opportunity to give high school students a head start in college. For more information on Project Discovery, visit related web sites at: http://alexandriava.gov/dhs/children_and_youth_services/proj_discovery.html http://groups.google.com/group/pdiscovery Community Members Research and Development for Inventions From time to time, we receive requests for assistance for inventions from students and members in the community. We are currently doing research and creating a design proposal for an invention by a member in the community. Contact us if you would like to participate in this project

SCI Events See the complete history of events at Archived Events.

Inventors Boot Camp

Join us for an interactive series in exploring the steps of
taking your great idea and bringing it into the real world.

“Mother of Invention”
Developing Your Innovative Ideas

Monday Sept. 8th 6pm, JC, Rm A

6-6:30pm Network
6:30-7:30pm Dinner
7:30-8:30pm Speaker
8:30-9pm Q&A

Send your RSVP sci@gmu.edu

Complete schedule

Sept. 8th	"Mother of Invention" - Generating Ideas
Oct. 6th	"Is It Worth it?" - Feasibility
Nov. 3rd	"Can We Patent It?" - Patnet Search
Dec.1st	"Proving the Concept" - Design
Feb. 2nd	"Show Me the Money” - Raising Capital
Mar. 2nd	“Making It Real” - Building a Prorotype
Apr. 6th	“Enter the Real World” - Licensing
May 4th	“Mission Accomplished” - Exit Strategy

Sponsored by the Dept. of Research and Economic Development

Seminars / Conferences / Other Meetings

Young Inventors International

All GMU students have free YII membership ! However, not everyone may have registered. The GMU Office of Business and Economic Research and Development has generously paid for university membership for the entire GMU community to use the resources of Young Inventors International. To see if you are registered, you can go to the following URL type in your GMU email:

http://younginventors.communityzero.com/advantage/findmember.jsp

If it is not in there, then you'll need to register, and it's free thanks to GMU's desire to emphasize innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities and for the GMU Office of Business and Economic Research and Development generous contribution for a University-Wide Subscription to YII.

Webinars

WEBINARS AND EVENTS

Webinar Log in details:

1. Please make sure that you are running Internet Explorer and check that your system is compatible at the URL below.

2. Log in at http://www.globalive.com/conferencing/webpro

3. Access code: 8913556

The webinar audio component can be heard via the Internet and questions can be asked electronically.

If you can't make it to the webinars, you can still post your questions that we will ask the speaker. We will then post the answers on the discussion board for you to review.

Viewing archived webinars

Did you miss a webinar? Check out the webinar archives!

To watch archived YII webinars, use http://s87163451.onlinehome.us/content

User name: webinars@younginventors.org

Password: invent

Please note that we only post webinars for those speakers who agreed to have them recorded.

Other announcements and opportunities

Car Design News Contest

Deadline: March 26, 2008

http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/contests/information/

CoCreate 2008 DesignCompetition

Deadline: March 28, 2008

http://apps.cocreate.com/descomp2008/en/

Seeking YII correspondents

See your name in print! YII is seeking student correspondents for our blog (http://www.innovatorshub.com/).

Check out the newest post by Eric Gorset, a student at California State University San Marcos, Co-Founder of D&G Solutions, and inventor of LiveSpeakR (http://www.livespeakr.com/ ), who explains how he moved from idea to patent pending. You can share your story, too!

Student correspondents are asked to contribute a monthly (or more frequent) post to address one of the following assignments (each post should be 200-700 words long):

1. Share your experiences as a student entrepreneur or innovator.

2. List and describe any initiatives or resources in your school or community that promote and support student entrepreneurs and innovators.

3. Interview an outstanding student innovator or entrepreneur in your school or community and find out any tips that might be useful to other student innovators.

4. Report on a class or event on the subject of entrepreneurship or innovation at your school or in your community.

5. Interview an alum or faculty member who inspires student innovators and entrepreneurs at your school or in your community.

6. Address any of the above questions for initiatives and people involved in social entrepreneurship at your school or community.

Posts will appear on the YII web site with your name and additional information about you that you would like to include. After 3 posts, your name and an introductory paragraph about you will be added to the list of correspondents on the YII web site. Correspondents who contribute at least 5 posts will receive a complimentary YII membership (if you are already a member, your membership will be complimentary for the first year in which you would otherwise pay your dues or if your school is no longer a member). Those who contribute at least 12 postings over the course of 12 months will receive a certificate or letter acknowledging their contribution.

If you are interested in becoming a correspondent, please send your name, email address, school name, and a response to any of the above questions to anne@younginventors.org.

New and exciting!

YII is planning a series of new programs and events for 2008 and 2009. Watch for updates about these initiatives in upcoming newsletters.

PAST WEBINARS

David Grampa - Founder of Online Gaming Company, Winner of Case Western Reserve's Business Plan Competition

Tuesday, March 18, 3 PM - 3:30 PM EST (Podcast)

David Grampa shares his experience founding an online gaming company and winning Case Western Reserve's business plan competition. Find additional details and log in information at http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/15978

The Not So Big Business Plan

Tue, Sep 25, 2007 (7:00 PM) to (8:00 PM)

Investment decisions are awarded and business plan competitions are won and lost based on your business plan. Learn how to prepare an outstanding one with Tim Berry, a business planning expert and founder of Palo Alto Software.

Barbara Carey's Simple Secrets to Inventors'...

Mon, Oct 01, 2007 (7:00 PM) to (8:00 PM)

Barbara Carey is an inventor, businesswoman, entrepreneur, and mother. As an inventor and entrepreneur she has brought more than 100 products to the market, launched seven companies, and been awarded more than a dozen patents. ...

Team Building - A Venture Capitalists' Perspective

Wed, Oct 17, 2007 (7:00 PM) to (8:00 PM)

Join Andrew Chung, Senior Associate at Lightspeed Venture Partners in Silicon Valley, as he describes how to build a team as a first-time entrepreneur.

Introduction to Industrial Design Webinar

Tuesday, January 22, 7 PM - 8 PM EST

Lahav Gil, CEO, Kangaroo Design (http://www.kangaroodesign.net) and Co-Founder, Humanitarian Products Group (http://www.humanitarianproducts.org/)

Introduction to Industrial Design Webinar: What is it? How does it work? How can you work with it?

Tuesday, February 26, 3 PM - 4 PM EST

Financing the Startup

James Smith and Shane McLean, LaBarge Weinstein - http://www.lwlaw.com/

James and Shane will provide a legal perspective on the process of seeking financing for a startup venture. Topics will include: optimal structure for your venture, establishing the relationship among founders, fundamental protections for the core assets, sources of funding, and making the pitch. James and Shane will also discuss alternate sources of funding and "bootstrapping" the startup to try and make those valuable dollars go further. This webinar is likely to be of particular interest to Canadian innovators and entrepreneurs.

Tuesday, March 11, 4 PM - 5 PM EST

Turning Inventions into Compelling Products

Ian Tien, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation

How can you maximize the appeal of your invention to your target customer? What goes through a customer's mind when considering a purchase decision? In this presentation, you'll learn to craft compelling value propositions that can accelerate product adoption and drive new business opportunities for your offering. Ian Tien is a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft Corporation focused on Duet(TM), a joint offering with SAP that sold over 1,000,000 licenses in its first 16 months. Previously, he led product development teams for Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005.

Pricing: $10 or complimentary for Premium Members

(Premium Membership is $25/year. To find out more about Premium Memberships, please visit http://www.younginventors.org/?page=359 )

To register for the webinar, please send an email to anne@younginventors.org before 5 PM on Tuesday, January 22nd with "Webinar Registration" in the subject and your name in the body of the email.

If you can't make it to the webinar on Tuesday, you can still post your questions that we will ask the speaker. We will then post the answers on the discussion board for you to review.

For more information about Young Inventors International visit:
http://younginventors.org/

Past Contests:

University of Maryland Technology Start-Up Boot Camp

Friday October 19th, 2007
University of Maryland, College Park, MD

The University of Maryland's Technology Start-Up Boot Camp is an intensive, one-day workshop and networking event about launching new ventures. The Boot Camp is hosted by the University of Maryland, a leading institution for entrepreneurship education and venture formation. The Boot Camp is FREE to all persons with a local university affiliation. The cost for non-academic attendees is $75.

For more information visit:
http://www.bootcamp.umd.edu/index.html

Contests

Put Your Creativity to the Test !

Circuit Cellar and Microchip Technology are pleased to bring you the Microchip 16-bit Embedded Control Design Contest. This is the perfect opportunity to learn about Microchip’s 16-bit Microcontroller and Digital Signal Controller (DSC) families. These powerful workhorses offer a broad range of products while preserving the compatibility that helps save you time and money on subsequent designs. Put your creativity to the test. Your project could win you a share of $15,000 in cash prizes and give you the international recognition you deserve.

Submission Deadline: October 16, 2007

$100,000 prize offered for environmental design !

Electronics engineers, students and academics are being invited to submit designs for an innovative product that uses electronic components and has a positive impact on the environment in the Live Edge competition.

The winning entrant will receive a cash prize of $50,000 as well as the support to move the design towards production. The support package, estimated to be worth an additional $50,000, will include the services of an electronic design consultancy that will develop the design to prototype stage, assistance with legal matters and IP registration, marketing and publicity, as well as Premier Farnell's help in securing investment funding.

Learn more at: http://www.live-edge.com/

[archived events] - Click here to get all the details about past events !