College students from across the Cascade Corridor (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia) and Alaska are invited to apply for student innovation and new venture competitions hosted by UW Foster School of Business’ Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship. Competitions take place annually in March, April and May and offer opportunities for technology development and innovation in healthcare and cleantech (through the Health Innovation Challenge and Environmental Innovation Challenge) as well as any other innovative idea (through the Dempsey Startup Competition). Students are invited to apply for one or all three. Additionally, the Buerk Center provides support to University of Washington MBA students entering the global Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC).
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The Health Innovation Challenge (HIC) builds on the strengths of the University of Washington to provide a platform for interdisciplinary student teams to work on new solutions to existing health/healthcare problems, new approaches to helping people live healthier lives, new opportunities for care and treatment, and new product or services to bring to market.
The Dempsey Startup Competition (Dempsey Startup) is a platform for student-led ventures. The competition provides student teams with mentoring from entrepreneurs and investors, the opportunity to tell their stories to the Seattle startup community, and the visibility they need to get going. More than 5,485 students have participated in this annual new venture competition since its inception in 1998, and the Buerk Center has awarded 178 teams with over $1.61 million in seed funding.
Team Formation
If you’re a student seeking members for your HIC or Dempsey Startup Competition team, or an individual hoping to join a team, take part in one of the many Buerk Center events designed to connect you with students and entrepreneurs in the UW ecosystem.
View Buerk Center Event Calendar
In particular, our weekly Team Tuesday lunch meetups are a great way to connect with students across campus. Share your ideas, share your skills, and learn more about bringing them together as a team for one of the Buerk Center Competitions.
Generative AI Policy
The Buerk Center recognizes that there are a variety of AI programs available to assist with written work and visual models or presentations. While these programs are useful tools, they are not a replacement for human creativity, originality, and critical thinking. However, within limited circumstances and with proper attribution, AI programs may be used as a tool by Teams to prepare for our competitions. Please refer to each individual Competition website for our full policy and use guidelines.