This month, showcase of student ideas and inventions will take place at MSU in collaboration with Creativity and Innovation Day on April 21. This is the second annual event hosted by the Thad Cochran Endowment for Entrepreneurship in association with the colleges of business and engineering.  Creativity and Innovation Day takes place in the McCool Hall atrium and will announce the winners of several competitions taking place this month in addition to hosting a keynote speaker.
The competitions begin  today with the Bioengineering Competition at 10 a.m. in McCool 339. The Bioengineering Competition is new this year and has four entries from biological engineering students for new products with some exciting biomedical applications, three of which are designed for third-world countries.
One design is a neonatal breathing apparatus run by bicycle power, which eliminates the need for batteries and compresses an air nebulizer to deliver medications to newborns and premature babies.  Another is an inexpensive HIV tracking software that detects a patient’s stage of the disease targeted for use in South Africa where many suffer from AIDS. Proper medications can be delivered early on to prevent the disease from progressing.
The winner will be announced Thursday and will receive a monetary prize of $1000 to $1200 in addition to entry into the MSU Engineering Competition which is also held this month.  Students participating in the Engineering Competition will propose their business ideas to a panel of judges in hopes of receiving startup funds and a chance to enter the Mississippi New Venture Challenge presented by the Mississippi Technology Alliance this May in Jackson. 
Senior mechanical engineering majors Tom Goddette and Josh Hoop are entering their design for a hybrid, off-road, utility vehicle run on a gasoline engine and electrical and battery power.  The two got their design idea from working on the MSU EcoCAR team.  Hoop said he entered the competition to create a better culture for entrepreneurship at MSU.
Other competitions happening as part of Creativity and Innovation Day include the NewCo competition for newly started companies, the MSU Innovation Challenge open to faculty, students and staff who design an iPhone app for a $10,000 prize and the $5,000 E-Business Entrepreneurship Competition for creating a web- based business.  Proposals for the E-Business Competition must be submitted by Thursday.  Finalists will be selected by April 14 and will give their presentation April 21.
Winners are chosen based on their product’s market viability and the ability of the team to execute their idea.  Proposals must include not only the description of the product, but also proposed roles of the management team, a detailed budget of startup earnings and advertising plans, among others.  The winner of the E-Business competition is expected to begin his or her  business this summer. 
Gerald Nelson, Director of the Thad Cochran Endowment for Entrepreneurship, said even for students who do not win, participating in these competitions gives them incredible opportunities.
 ”It’s really not just that you win some money — a great resume builder; it opens the door to other competitions and you get to network a lot easier because the judges in most cases are going to be entrepreneurs themselves. A lot of good things come out of participating in these competitions — you learn a lot and really it’s just a great experience,” he said.
Goddette said he feels the same way and encourages every student with an idea to take advantage of these events and the resources available through the Entrepreneurship Center. 
 ”At some point you have to decide that it’s worth spending time on, and you have to gather as many resources as you can to see if your idea is viable. You have to make an attempt,” he said. “Anyone can come to the E-center and get help—every student has resources, you just have to pursue it.”