Innovation & Entrepreneurship Academy

Startups pitch to a panel of judges for 60-seconds in front of a live audience and compete for a prize pool of $2,500, including an audience choice prize! New ideas are welcome, and no written business plan or executive summary is required.

This competition takes place during the fall semester.

Ideators will present their technology/invention-based idea or prototype to a panel of esteemed judges for feedback and the chance to win exciting prizes. No business model canvas or executive summary is required. Are you up to the challenge?

This competition takes place during the fall semester.

Click here for application!

The new Food Science and Technology: Innovate for Tomorrow Challenge is open to all UMass students and recent graduates. Pitch innovative food science-related ideas for a chance to win cash prizes!

This competition takes place during the fall semester.

Click here for application!

The Hult Prize Challenge is a year-long social entrepreneurship competition in which over 100,000 young people in 120+ countries work to create high-impact startups that address the annual Call to Action in alignment with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Finalists pitch their businesses to a panel of expert judges, and the winning team receives $1M USD in funding to make their idea a reality.

There is a prize pool of $10,000 at the UMass level, with the potential to move on and win $1M in the global competition. 

This competition takes place during the fall semester.

Click here for application!

Startups will form their business model and perfect the long-form board room style pitch and need to convince the judges how and why their startup will be successful. Up to $15,000 in seed money will be awarded to select teams as determined by the judges.

Check back soon for exciting alternative programming for Fall 2025!

Meet the UMass I&E community and find out who the winners are from the Tech Challenge, the Food Science and Technology: Innovate for Tomorrow Challenge, the Hult Prize Challenge campus competition, and the Executive Pitch Competition! 

This event takes place during the fall semester. 

Click here to register!

All competitions are open to UMass students and graduates of the last decade (GOLD alums). Startups with for-profit, nonprofit and hybrid business plans are welcome. 

Participants are coached to develop their ideas, create start-up plans, and scale their start-ups through boot camps, advice from industry experts, mentors’ guidance and celebrity judges’ feedback. 

Click here for the full eligibility requirements.

Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs): Check back soon for more details.

Feedback: Following every competition, competitors receive a virtual feedback packet from the Berthiaume Center that includes their scores and direct input from each of the judges from the competition. We highly recommend that teams use this feedback to help their ventures progress post-competition, regardless of competition results. 

Pitch Camp: All competitors in the I&E Academy competitions will participate in a pitch camp to help practice, define and refine their pitch. Competitors will learn essential details about each competition and tips and tricks on how to do a professional startup pitch.

Startup Bootcamps: Looking to start a venture? Want to add a co-founder or venture support? Startup Bootcamps are interactive workshops designed for students to share and generate ideas, form teams, and learn how to bring a venture to fruition. Startup Bootcamps provide just-in-time support and tangible skills to learn how to run a business. From learning how to pitch to gaining hands-on skills from student founders and experts, Startup Bootcamps support all students, faculty and staff who want to be entrepreneurs.