Monday, December 01, 2008
Ideation winners announced
 Two sophomores and a freshman are the winners of the 2008 College of Business Ideation Competition at the University of Southern Indiana. The winners were announced in November as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Daniel (D.J.) Horstman, a sophomore engineering major from the Pott College of Science and Engineering, placed first. Freshman Courtney Cantrell, a management major in the College of Business, placed second, and Brett Shipley, College of Nursing and Health Professions, was the third-place winner. Shipley is a sophomore who is majoring in nursing. The competition, open to all USI students, encourages students to come up with an idea that could make a difference to society. Students submit a one-page summary about the idea and what problem it will solve. Entrants further explain what makes their idea better than others, and who is served by the product, service, or business. The top three winners received cash awards, and the first 50 students who submitted entries received flash drives. Since the ideas are preliminary and not protected by copyright, the winning ideas are not published. The winning entries all relate to technology. Horstman, a graduate of Mater Dei High School, said his father’s business, Adaptive Consultants, served as inspiration for his idea. Bryan Bourdeau, instructor in business, encouraged Horstman to do more research about the market for the product and funding. Horstman said, “The competition forced me to write down my ideas and think about feasibility. I was in a computer lab when I read about the competition on the USI web site. Completing the entry took me about 20 minutes, since only one page is required. The cash prizes were an incentive for me, too.” He is in the Honors Program at USI. College students are the market for Cantrell’s idea. A graduate of Monroe Central High School, she said she also read about the competition on the web site. She said, “I became more interested when the dean of the college came to one of my classes, and he encouraged us to submit an entry.” She lives on the Business Living Learning floor in a residence hall. Shipley’s idea would help lower infections in hospitals. A graduate of Princeton Community High School, he said the innovative culture at USI needs to expand and more students should get involved. He recommends students bounce ideas off each other. He said, “In a group of 20 students, you could double 20 ideas or more.” More than 50 students submitted ideas in the 2008 competition. A panel of experienced entrepreneurs and business executives judged the submissions and selected the top 10 finalists. The finalists presented brief oral presentations and answered the judges’ questions. Bourdeau, who joined the USI faculty in the fall, organized the ideation competition. He hopes to stimulate an entrepreneurial mindset across the University. Kathy W. Funke News & Information Services 812/465-7050 or kfunke@usi.edu |
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