Who can participate

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Who can participate?

• All SJSU Students
• Individuals or in teams
• As part of a class project
• As members of a student club
• As an extracurricular activity
• A student can submit more than one entry
• Alumni, Faculty Staff entries will be accepted
  IF space permits

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Why participate?

• Win cash and in-kind prizes of up to 5,000
• Improve your communication and presentation
  skills
• Get feedback on your ideas for new products and
  services
• Meet students from other disciplines to help turn
  your idea into a reality
• Network with entrepreneurs and business
  professionals
• Secure industry mentors to develop
  your idea into a business plan
• Enter your Business Plan into the SVCEs Business
  Plan Competition in Spring 2010 you could win
  10,000!

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What is a Neat Idea?

• A neat idea is any practical idea that can change
  the world for the better
• It can be a new product, process or service, or
  simply a new application of existing technology
• We expect a neat idea to be innovative in some
  way, but not necessarily radical
• A new approach to implementing a standard
  computer program would fit if it created new
  benefits

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How to present your idea?

• A poster board display is required for each idea
• It can be supplemented by a model or prototype,
  and/or a computer display
• In addition, participants can sign up for
• The Elevator Pitch Contest
• Executive Summary contest

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What to compete in?

• There are FOUR Competition areas
• Best Exhibit participation is mandatory
• Judged on quality of poster board exhibit
  supporting display (if any)
• Best written summary
• 1-page idea summary submitted on-line
• Best Elevator Pitch
• 2-minutes oral presentation
• Social Innovation Award
• For projects that have societal value

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How to sign-up?

• Register on-line at the SVNIF website
  www.cob.sjsu.edu/svnif
• Registration deadline November 18, 2009

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• For more information on the Neat Ideas Fair,
  project guidelines, judging criteria, previous
  winners, etc. go to www.cob.sjsu.edu/svnif
• Contact Dr. Bobbi Makani, Interim Director, SVCE
  at makani_b_at_cob.sjsu.edu
• Contact Dr. Anu Basu, Director, SVCE (on leave
  during Fall 2009) at anu.basu_at_sjsu.edu
• The Silicon Valley Neat Ideas Fair is hosted by
  the Silicon Valley Center for Entrepreneurship
  www.cob.sjsu.edu/svce

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Ways for Faculty to encourage student
participation

• Inform your students about the Fair and highlight
  the reasons why they should participate.
• Include the NIF project in your syllabus.
• Include a link to the SVNIF website on your
  faculty website.
• Mention the speaker events in your class or
  syllabus.
• Schedule a short presentation in your class by an
  NIF volunteer.
• Give credit or extra credit for speaker event
  attendance
• Give credit or extra credit for participating in
  the Fair
• Take your students to visit the Fair on Dec. 2nd
  2009.