BIG IDEA Innovation Competition Wants Your BIG IDEAS

"There is no time easier to start up a company than today." That was the message Mike Marasco, director of the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and clinical professor at Northwestern University, brought to more than 40 students at the UW-Parkside Big Idea Innovation Competition kickoff. 

The Big Idea Innovation Competition provides funding for UW-Parkside students to develop innovative ideas. Marasco wanted to make sure students understood that a lot of great entrepreneurs started while they were in college. 

Marasco showed the audience pictures of Evan Speigal, co-founder of Snapchat, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, and Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook. "What do these people have in common?" Marasco asked. One thing they have in common is that none finished college; their ideas, however, were inspired and developed while they were in college.  

Also, each of these entrepreneurs had been part of a team, thus the notation as co-founder. "Working together, Marasco said, they were able to create some of the biggest ideas in technology and social media. 

College is a great time to work on an idea, Marasco said, because the technology, resources, and partnerships are readily available, and the classroom can fuel students' knowledge. 

If you or your classmates have big ideas, now is the time to get them moving. For more information on the Big Idea Innovation Competition, contact Zaid Altahat in the Computer Science Department at altahat@uwp.edu or call 262-595-3363. 

Deadline for all innovative ideas is April 21.