BRING YOUR IDEA TO LIFE

The Schurz Innovation Challenge is a competition for students who are interested in bringing their innovative ideas to life through an incubation style process. All that is needed to compete is an innovative idea and the desire to bring that idea to life!

What Do You Need to Enter?

You don't have to have developers or business majors on your team to compete. All you need is a teammate who is a student at the University of Notre Dame, and a unique and innovative idea. If you are looking for developers or help with your business plan, we have you covered. For more information on the incubation process...

No Developer, No Problem!

Don't let not having tech talent on your team discourage you from competing. Coding grants are available for teams competing in the challenge. The coding grant allows the team at South Bend Code School to build an application prototype for your idea. To learn more...

Prizes

*participants are eligible for multiple prizes

Overall Prize

These prizes will be given based on the strength and feasibility of the core idea of your application along with the strength of your proven working model or prototype.

1st Place - $5,000

2nd Place - $2,500

3rd Place - $1,500

Independently Coded

To be eligible for the coding prize, a team needs to have developed their application themselves. Prizes will be given based on difficulty of build and innovative use of technology.

Top coded - $2,500

Runner up coded - $1,500

Crowd Favorite

Just as it implies, this award will be given based on an audience poll that happens after each team has presented at the competition.

Crowd Favorite - $500

Timeline

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KICKOFF MEETING

OCTOBER 6th

We will be hosting a kickoff meeting at Innovation Park at Notre Dame. Pizza and beverages will be included. At the meeting we will cover the rundown of the competition and answer any questions particpants have at this time.

OCT 6
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McCloskey Business Plan Competition

OCTOBER 30th

At 5pm if you are registered for the Schurz Innovation Challenge and submit your project into the first round of the McCloskey Business Plan Competition, you are eligible for a prize of $50 per team member.

OCT 30
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MEET YOUR CODING MENTORS

BY NOVEMBER 1st

We suggest you have an introductory meeting with a mentor from South Bend Code School by this date. We are there to help you after all!

NOV 1
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SUBMIT FOR A CODING GRANT

BY NOVEMBER 17th

If you would like to apply for South Bend Code School's coding grant to receive assistance in building your application, we suggest you submit your grant form by this date. South Bend Code School will take rolling submissions for the grant, but there are only a limited number of grants available.

NOV 17
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BATTLE TESTED

JANUARY 1st

At this point, you should have tested your idea by putting a rough prototype in front of potential customers. You should begin to have a solid idea of who your customer is.

JAN 1
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PRACTICE RUN

WEEKS OF FEBRUARY 20th & 27th

During these weeks, practice presentations will occur at Innovation Park. Timeslots will be booked closer to the date.

FEB 20
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COMPETITION DAY!

MARCH 1st

All of your hard work has paid off and now you're ready to present!

MARCH 1

Reach Out

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