West Chester University: Cottrell Center Hosts Inaugural Social Innovation Competition

Press release from West Chester University:

November 15, 2021

Shark Tank

The Social Innovation Competition encourages participants from diverse disciplines
to develop an entrepreneurial idea that addresses and solves significant social or
environmental problems. Ideas must be related to at least one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The competition is open to all West Chester University undergraduate students, graduate
students, alumni, faculty, and staff.

On hand to further inspire will be Nick Bayer, CEO of Saxbys, and one of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 100 Most Powerful Leaders in Philadelphia. He will keynote the event and discuss
Saxbys’ recent designation as a Certified B Corporation. B Corps are businesses that
meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public
transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

Philadelphia Business Journal

The competition moderator is Emily Yates, Smart City director for the City of Philadelphia.
With her background in urban policy, in 2019 she founded and was principal of Urban
Revolution Group, LLC, a sustainability and economic development firm that assists
policymakers and practitioners in developing strategies and implementing projects
and programs that create resilient and inclusive cities of the future.

The five finalists in WCU’s first Social Innovation Competition are:

Register to attend here.

The West Chester University Social Innovation Competition is sponsored by TD Bank, and is co-hosted by The WCU Cottrell Entrepreneurial Leadership Center, The WCU Office of Sustainability, The WCU Center for Civic Engagement & Social Impact, and PRME.

The Dr. Edwin Cottrell Entrepreneurial Leadership Center at West Chester University
inspires students to engage in entrepreneurial ventures, facilitates regional economic
development, and fosters entrepreneurship literacy across WCU, in Chester County,
and in southeastern Pennsylvania.

The Social Innovation Competition occurs during Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW),
an international initiative that acknowledges and promotes entrepreneurship in six
continents each November. This week’s programs from the Cottrell Center include:

This press release was produced by West Chester University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.