Nearly 40 aspiring entrepreneurs--a record number--took part in the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program's sixth annual Elevator Pitch Competition in early April. With a $1,000 top prize on the line in both the undergraduate and open divisions,

[Nathan Mason] Open Division - Most Entertaining

entrants received just two minutes to promote their business ventures to the judges. Senior Monica Harvey took home undergraduate honors with Belt Buddies, a car seat buckle that features music and toy-like designs to encourage kids to wear their seatbelts. Graduate student Jeffrey Ackerman won the open division with his REDD Science product, which attaches to a suitcase handle to increase the user's energy efficiency and reduce muscle strain. Cash prizes were also awarded for second and third place and "most entertaining" pitch.
A special thanks to all of our sponsors--Otis Elevator Co., Bingham Greenbaume Doll LLP, Allos Ventures, Purdue Federal Credit Union, Stepstone Business Partners-- and congratulations to all the winners--read more about their innovative ideas here!

 If you weren't able to attend to the Elevator Pitch Competition, no worries, Certificate Program student, Daus Aziz captured the entire event in an amazing 5 minute video. See this video along with another beautiful creation in an article below.

When public relations and advertising major Marisa Strupp receives her degree this weekend, the certificate program participant won't have much downtime. She's jumping right into a full-time position with BLASTmedia, a PR and social media firm located in Fishers, Indiana. Marisa's been interning at BLAST since January, managing directed keyword research campaigns on YouTube, blogging about Google+ and Pinterest, and developing social media content for business-to-business and consumer clients. She's been plenty busy on campus as well--serving as vice president of both the American Advertising Federation and the Public Relations Student Society of America chapters at Purdue. Congratulations, Marisa, and best of luck as you start your new career!

Beautiful Purdue? Junior actuarial science major, certificate program participant, and talented photographer and videographer Mohd Firdaus Aziz thinks so--and he's captured the campus in all its glory in this amazing video. We were fortunate to have Daus put his creative skills to work for the certificate program as well. Check out his behind-the-scenes look at our sixth annual Elevator Pitch Competition, including interviews with organizers and participants.

Here's Daus' take on the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program,"being a student in Certificate Program has been one of the best decisions that I've made. This program not only acts as a platform on how to make your ideas to happen, but also gives you valuable skills & experiences to prepare for your life and career in the world of entrepreneurship."

Since the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program got its start in 2005, we've enrolled more than 3,500 undergraduate students in our classes--a curriculum designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge required to launch new business ventures and make entrepreneurship an accessible career option. By August, more than 950 students will be calling themselves certificate program alumni, including nearly 150 from the Spring 2012 semester alone!