Open Minds Guidelines

• Opportunties for high profile, media attention
• Great exposure and networking oportunities
• Chance to win video competition cash prizes to further your venture
• Opportunities to present your innovation and practice your pitch to a wide range of audiences (peers, academics, potential investors, and the general public)
• Selected teams receive an all-expense paid trip to NCIIA's annual conference to participate

• Interested teams must be previously or currently affilliated with NCIIA, and can be one of the following:
  • An NCIIA Advanced E-Team grant recipient
  • A student team that has resulted from an NCIIA Course and Program grant
  • A student team that has attended an NCIIA venture development workshop (VentureLab or Advanced Invention to Venture) or is involved with NCIIA's Student Ambassador program
• Teams should have a working prototype, or something engaging to showcase at the time of the exhibition (hands-on and interactive displays tend to draw the most media attention and interest fromt the public).
• Selected teams should be prepared to submit a short one to two minute video as part of the Open Minds video competition. Cash prizes will be awarded to teams with the winning videos (the 2011 first prize was $1,000).
• Selected teams are required to attend all activities related to Open Minds. 2013 dates and location will be announced this summer.

Questions about your team's eligibility? Contact Rachel Agoglia

Teams selected to participate in Open Minds will create and submit a one to two minute video about their team and/or product. Videos will be judged on creativity/message delivery, and not on the quality or market potential of your innovation. These videos will be posted online and will be open for public viewing and voting, so do not include proprietary information in the video. The top six videos as voted by the general public will be evaluated by a panel of judges and winners will be chosen from these top six videos.The winning team(s) will be announced and presented with cash prizes during the Open Minds exhibition.

Complete video competition guidelines will be provided to Open Minds teams upon selection.

Watch videos from 2012 participating teams.

The Open Minds 2013 application will open this fall and the submission deadline will be in December. Stay tuned for details.

Interested teams will submit an easy, five-step online application, which can be accessed here. If you have not already done so, you will need to create a NCIIA account to access the application. Teams should be prepared to provide the following as part of the application:

1. A one to three page narrative describing your technology innovation
2. A high resolution photo of your prototype (at least 2MB/300 dpi in size). This photo will be used for marketing purposes, so be sure it's one that you're comfortable sharing.
3. Verification of support from a faculty advisor (this may take a day or two, so plan accordingly)

Applicants and faculty advisors will be notified of their status in early January 2013. Selected teams will be responsible for making their own travel arrangements. NCIIA will subsidize travel and expenses for up to two winning team members to attend. These expenses include airfare, hotel accommodations, and a small stipend for food. Most meals will be provided.