USD School of Business Administration Launches Innovation Week
On April 28th, the University of San Diego School of Business Administration kicked off its official Innovation Week. The goal of the week was to bring together social entrepreneurs, upstart innovators and thought leaders in an on-campus celebration designed to help community members and students go from “wild dream” to “wildly successful.”
The week kicked off with a keynote address from Tom Love, founder and executive chairman of Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores. He spoke about his entrepreneurial path to success, which began in 1964 with just one small location in a tiny western Oklahoma town. Now today, Love’s has more than 430 locations in 41 states, employing more than 17,000 people.
On May 3rd, Innovation Week continued with final pitches for the Center for Peace and Commerce’s 7th annual Social Innovation Challenge (SIC). The Challenge welcomed top student innovators from San Diego and Mexico to pitch their ideas for social impact and to receive seed funding—up to $40,000—and in-kind prizes. Each student team was given the opportunity to give a six-minute pitch and have five minutes of Q&A with the judges.
“The reach of SIC continues to expand with an eye towards becoming global, in line with USD’s mission to be a global hub for social innovation and change making,” said Amitkumar Kakkad, CPC faculty director, in a news release.
Continuing the week, more than 70 proposals were submitted for the USD School of Business’ 6th annual Venture Vetting (V2) Competition, which took place on May 4th. The competition welcomed entrepreneurial students from San Diego, Mexico, and Uruguay to pitch their ideas in front of a panel of distinguished angel investors for a chance to win more than $30,000 in funding.
All Innovation Week events were open to the public and were sponsored by such companies as Qualcomm Ventures, Moxie Foundation, the Price Family Foundation, Pacific Western Bank, Cleantech San Diego, and more.
About the Author
Kelly Vo
Kelly Vo is a writer who specializes in covering MBA programs, digital marketing, and personal development.
