Faculty and staff members at the University of Colorado Boulder seeking funding for projects involving entrepreneurship or a problem-solving mindset are invited to submit proposals for the new CU-Boulder Campus Entrepreneurship Seed Awards.
The awards, provided by the cross-campus Entrepreneurship Initiative and administered by CU-Boulder’s Silicon Flatirons Center at the University of Colorado law school, range from $2,500 to $10,000 or more in the case of projects with members from different disciplines.
The purpose of the awards, which are funded by CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano as well as local entrepreneur Dan Caruso, is to inspire faculty and staff to take risks and develop new projects; and to encourage entrepreneurial initiative, according the Phil Weiser, dean of Colorado Law and executive director of the Silicon Flatirons Center.
“Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship on the Boulder campus is paramount to our future success and I am delighted Phil Weiser has agreed to manage the program for the campus,” said DiStefano.
The seed award initiative will complement and reinforce a number of other cross-campus entrepreneurial initiatives on the CU-Boulder campus including the New Venture Challenge, a program offering mentorship and a pitch competition to startups, and the global Entrepreneurs in Residence program, which will bring to campus seasoned entrepreneurs who will work with faculty, staff and students.
“Entrepreneurial attitudes and methodologies, for whatever walk of life one pursues, are essential in today’s world,” said Weiser. “The seed awards are meant to encourage members in our community to take risks in launching on new opportunities, whether project-based learning and research, or helping get companies or nonprofits off the ground.”
Application proposals for the seed awards are due by Oct. 15, 2015. For eligibility guidelines and the application visit http://www.colorado.edu/law/campusentrepreneurshipseedaward. For more information contact Phil Weiser at phil.weiser@colorado.edu or Andy Marchant at andrew.marchant@colorado.edu.