Contact: Robbie Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A group of Mississippi State students will win $5,000 as part of an April business competition emphasizing Internet use as part of an entrepreneurial effort.
The $5,000 E-Business Entrepreneurship Competition aims to encourage new business ideas from conception to implementation, said Gerald Nelson, director of the university's Thad Cochran Endowment for Entrepreneurship.
Nelson said the Cochran Endowment and College of Business and Industry's MQABL Services Innovation Group is sponsoring the challenge. Each team will experience real-world business scenarios that help them develop the critical skills required for success, he added.
"The winning team is expected to attempt to operate their start-up business during the summer," Nelson said.
Along with the $5,000 first prize, a representative with the Cochran Endowment will mentor the winning team in the business development process. Judges also will award $500 for second place and $250 for third place.
While the competition is open to all currently enrolled students, each team must include at least one major in the College of Business and Industry, said Rob Moore, an associate professor of marketing helping organize the competition.
"For students interested in running a business, this gives them an opportunity to experience it for themselves," Moore observed.
The schedule for the competition is as follows: April 8, business proposal analyses due; April 9-10, finalists announced; and April 16, final presentations and awards ceremony.
The Thad Cochran Endowment for Entrepreneurship was established in 2006 to promote entrepreneurship among MSU faculty and students and businesses throughout the state.
For more information, contact Nelson at 662-325-3817 or gnelson@engr.msstate.edu. For more information on the Cochran Endowment, visit www.tcee.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.