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THE INNOVATION INSTITUTE Big Idea Center Launches with @PittInnovates Open! Nicholas Zarras The highly anticipated arrival of the Innovation Institute’s new Big Idea Center will be marked with an opening kickoff event next week. Open to all University of Pittsburgh students, the @PittInnovates Open will be held on Thursday, Sept. 20, from 5 to 6 p.m. in the O’Hara Student Center and will offer attendees the chance to learn all about what the Big Idea Center has going on for the 2018-2019 school year. In addition, students will be enjoying ice cream, giveaways and the chance to win tickets to the upcoming Thrival Music X Arts Festival. Attendees will be able to learn about programs and upcoming events for students, faculty and staff. Additionally, it will provide the opportunity to connect with the university’s rich entrepreneurial ecosystem, which offers many education, funding and mentorship opportunities throughout the school year. Many partners of the Innovation Institute will attend, such as Innovation Works, Idea Foundry, Ascender, Pittsburgh Entrepreneurs Forum, BlueTree Allied Angels, LifeX Ventures, Pitt Center for Medical Innovation, Office of Economic Partnerships and Clincial Translational Science Institute. Students will be able to network and speak with these groups in a comfortable and easy environment while making ice cream sundaes. The event provides the opportunity for students to meet the Big Idea Center’s entrepreneurs in residence (EIRs) and win a free lunch with an EIR. In addition to the educational and networking benefits offered at next week’s event, attendees will have the chance to win
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tickets to Thrival Music X Arts Festival. One of the biggest music and innovation events of the year, Thrival will take place directly after the event on Thursday, Sept. 20, and continuing on Friday, Sept. 21, with the music part of the festival at Highmark Stadium. Musical guests will include Dillon Francis, Matt and Kim, and Bear Hands, in addition to free activities, demos and art installations. The festival emphasizes shared experiences, interactive art and technology, and community gathering. Tickets for Thrival start at $30, so come to the Open to have a chance at scoring some free tickets. Tickets for the innovation side of Thrival also will be given away. @PittInnovates Open will officially launch the Big Idea Center for student entrepreneurship that was initially announced last Spring at
the Randall Family Big Idea Competition. For those unfamiliar, the Big Idea Center’s goal is to continue advancing student entrepreneurship at Pitt. Both a physical space and a set of programs, the Big Idea Center offers programs, competitions and resources for Pitt students. Located in the Gardner Steel Conference Center O’Hara Street, any student can access the Center and use its resources, as long as it is for entrepreneurial reasons. Students will be able to learn more and ask questions at Open next week. Also upcoming for the Innovation Institute is Bluehack, a one-of-kind competition sponsored by IBM. It will be the first time the event will come to North America. Taking place on Oct. 13-14, Bluehack is a friendly competition
September 13, 2018
where student teams brainstorm and apply IBM’s famous Watson artificial intelligence platform to solve various problems. Students can form their own teams before the competition or can form teams at the event. Students will have three challenge categories to choose from: Improving the Healthcare Process and Experience, The Future of The Internet of Things (IoT), and Open Innovation: The Future of You…Open Category… “Do Something Amazing.” IBM and Amerisource will coach and judge the event along with members of the community. While @PittInnovates Open and Bluehack are the next two exciting upcoming events for the school year, one cannot forget that the Randall Family Big Idea Competition and its $100,000 in prizes is right around the corner next semester, so visit next week’s event for more info. To register for @PittInnovates Open, you can visit bit.ly/pittinnovatesopen, and to register for Bluehack, visit bit.ly/pittbluehack
PittInnovates Open Date: Thursday, Sept. 20 Time: 5 to 6 p.m. Location: O’Hara Student Center Ballroom
Bluehack Date: Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 13-14 Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Location: 135 N. Bellefield Ave. Third Floor, Information Sciences Building
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