Welcome to the Big Idea Competition!
What previous participants have to say about the Big Idea Competition:
This competition is an experience-based learning opportunity for Pitt students and postdocs with big ideas who enjoy working on interdisciplinary teams to bring those ideas to life. It is open to all Pitt undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs across all schools and departments. This competition spans February through April of each year and awards monetary prizes to student innovators, including a grand prize of $25,000! Since its inception in 2009 (formerly known as the Randall Family Big Idea Competition), the competition has attracted hundreds of teams seeking to bring their Big Ideas to market.
The Big Idea Competition is one of the region’s largest student innovator pitch competitions with the goal of fostering Pitt’s growing culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Participating teams will have the opportunity to build their ideas, learn from professionals in innovation and entrepreneurship, and maybe win some money along the way.
Who can apply?
All students of all levels, undergraduate-PhD candidates, are welcome to apply (postdocs + UPMC-affiliated medical residents are able to participate as well).
Team Eligibility Requirements:
- Teams must be Pitt-student founded, and Pitt-student led.
- Pitt students must be actively enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh for the duration of the competition.
- Students from other institutions are welcome to participate but may not win any money or present on behalf of the team.
- All ideas must be legal in the state of Pennsylvania at the time of application.
- If you have any questions about the team eligibility requirements, please contact jmalandro@innovation.pitt.edu.
The Application:
Applicants must upload a mandatory 60-90 second elevator pitch as part of their application. Communicate your idea at a high-level overview, and craft your pitch in a way that captures the audience’s attention and leaves them wanting more.
- Your elevator pitch should NOT be a video advertisement for your pitch or a narration over a slide deck.
- This is an opportunity for you to showcase YOU as a student innovator, so we should be able to see you (and your team!) clearly.
- Recommended components to cover:
- Introduction (this is your HOOK!)
- What is the problem you are solving?
- Who experiences the problem? Is this a big, important problem for a lot of people?
- What IS your Big Idea to solve the problem? Not how you do it, but how you’re going about solving the problem better than anyone else.
- How do you know this is a problem? Tell us YOUR story!
- Conclusion
All participating members of your team are REQUIRED to complete the Big Idea Competition application. Any missing applications may impact a team’s ability to move past the application phase. Please make sure to review all application content and required fields thoroughly before submission. Questions may be directed to Jess Malandro at jmalandro@innovation.pitt.edu.
Applications for the spring 2025 Big Idea Competition have concluded. Check back in the fall for future program announcements. You can stay connected to the Big Idea Center by following @pittbigidea on social media!
Click to read an overview of the 2024 Big Idea Competition & list of winning teams.
