Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship
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 5,190 students have participated in this annual new venture competition since its inception in 1998, and the Buerk Center has awarded 183 teams with $1,458, 240 in seed funding awarded.
The Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge (EIC) mobilizes students to apply their knowledge and ingenuity to solve environmental problems. Since 2009 the Buerk Center has awarded $416K in prototype funding and prize money to teams whose innovations address alternative energy production, clean water, fuel efficiency, etc. This annual challenge is open to students from colleges and universities across the Pacific Northwest.
The Hollomon 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.