Competitions

The ECU Office of Licensing and Commercialization’s (L&C) mission is to assist faculty in transforming ideas into real world solutions that can transform the region’s economy and can have a direct impact on individuals living in Eastern North Carolina. To help further this mission, L&C routinely holds a business development program followed by a pitch competition. These programs and pitch competitions are typically on a specific topic and features fireside chats by industry experts. Below are examples of competitions held by L&C over the past year. 

Spring 2024 – Blue Economy Pitch Program

If you are not familiar with the term Blue Economy, it refers to the sustainable and economic use, and conservation, of aquatic resources in both marine and freshwater environments. This includes oceans and seas, coastlines and banks, lakes, rivers and groundwater. Eastern North Carolina is a primary contributor to the Blue Economy. To help support innovations in this area, a pitch program and competition will be held. The pitch program will consist of 4 training sessions, followed by an in-person pitch. The top team will take home $5,000 in funding to support further development of their innovation. Learn More.

Summer 2023 – Patient Safety Challenge

L&C partnered in 2023 with the Patient Safety Technology Challenge to hold a business pitch program and competition for ECU clinicians, faculty, students, and staff that wish to improve healthcare as it relates to patient safety. Following the National Science Foundation I-Corps model, teams participated in four virtual training sessions that cover customer discovery, problem/solution alignment, business development, and funding. Each virtual training session featured a keynote speaker related to the session’s topic. Eligible teams had access to $5,000 in funds for prototyping, proof of concept, and/or travel to conduct customer discovery. Following the four sessions, teams pitched in-person with a single team receiving $7,500 in funding to help accelerate the development of their innovation. Over 15 teams participated in the program and 10 teams pitched in the final competition. First place went to Team Aero – Brittany Trotter, Dr. Jason Yao, and Dr. Stephanie George for their biomedical device to detect pressure injury. The team is using the funds to develop a refined prototype that can be used in clinical testing. Look for announcements for another Healthcare Pitch Program this summer. Learn More