Opportunity Quest is an executive summary business plan competition open to all students within Utah Valley University. Individuals or teams can submit entries, but each submission must include at least one current Utah Valley University student in a prominent leadership role.

The competition fosters and promotes business growth at the college and university level by giving students a chance to organize, direct, and present a business idea to a panel of judges. Opportunity Quest provides teams with an educational forum to prepare them for the competition and aid them in the creation and implementation of their business plan.

Eligibility

Each participating team must be organized and directed by a student at Utah Valley University that is enrolled during the Spring semester of the competition or who has applied to compete in the OQ during the fall semester prior to the OQ in the spring. (Student standing will be verified by Opportunity Quest staff).

• The team must be organized and directed by a student from UVU.
• The founding student must be registered for a minimum of nine (9) credit hours during both semesters of the competition year.
• The student team members must be involved in all aspects of the competition.
• The team must not have been an award winner in past Opportunity Quest competitions from previous years. (This eligibility requirement refers exclusively to Opportunity Quest and does not include any of the other events hosted by the UVU Entrepreneurship Institute.)
• There are no restrictions regarding other team members; however, we suggest building a balanced team with a strong combination of finance, marketing, engineering and technology skills.

For existing companies:

• If the company has been registered in any state longer than 24 months as of Sept. 1, 2022, a brief history of the company is required in the application.
• The cumulative revenue, debt, grant, or third-party-financing for the company has not exceeded $100,000 as of Sept. 1, 2022.

An individual team may provide more than one entry; however, each executive summary must be registered separately.

COMPETITION HELD AT UVU.

The Utah Entrepreneur Challenge is the second phase following UVU's Opportunity Quest and receives applications from all Utah higher education entities.

Reach out to us and let us help you make your application be the best it can be.

ELIGIBILITY

• The team must be organized and directed by a student from a college or university in the state of Utah.
• The founding student must be an active student during both semesters of the competition year.
• The founding student must be registered for a minimum of nine (9) credit hours during the semester they are participating. The credit hours must be taken as a matriculated, admitted, and degree-seeking student.
• The student team members must be involved in all aspects of the UEC competition.
• The team must not have been a top-8 finalist in past Utah Entrepreneur Challenge competitions from previous years. (This eligibility requirement refers exclusively to the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge and does not include Opportunity Quest or any of the events hosted by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute.)
• There are no restrictions regarding other team members; however, we suggest building a balanced team with a strong combination of finance, marketing, engineering and technology skills.
• For existing companies:
  • If the company has been registered in any state longer than 24 months as of Sept. 1, 2021, a brief history of the company is required in the application.
  • The cumulative revenue, debt, grant or third-party financing for the company has not exceeded $100,000 prior to Sept. 1, 2021.
  • The company cannot be a franchise.

COMPETITION HELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. 

The Bench to Bedside Competition (B2B) is an exciting and vibrant program that introduces students to the fascinating world of medical technology innovation.  

B2B is a multidisciplinary experiential educational program that teaches the impact and the power diversity of thought can bring to the innovation process. The program has grown immensely in scope and quality over the last eight years. We have now engaged over 1,300 students into 300 inter-disciplinary teams that have spawned innovative new health care technologies. More than 65 of these teams have moved forward to commercialize their creations.

Competition Overview

During the seven-month B2B program, student teams form “startup” companies to identify an unmet clinical need and design a technology solution to address the need.  Each team has access to over 100 University Physicians from a broad range of specialties as well as engineering and business professionals from the Salt Lake community to serve as consultants, key opinion leaders, and stakeholders. In that seven-month time period, students will have defined the clinical problem, evaluated the patent landscape, established a regulatory pathway, created a proof of concept prototype, and then develop a go-to-market strategy for commercialization.

The program culminates in April with a formal presentation of team projects at the annual Bench to Bedside Competition. The event draws participation from faculty physicians, residents, industry leaders, venture capital firms, and university leadership. Projects are presented by team members, then evaluated and scored by a VIP panel of judges. Top teams are awarded milestone funding to support further project development.

Eligibility

Undergraduate and Graduate students from all backgrounds can form interdisciplinary-teams to participate in the Bench to Bedside competition. The competition is open to students from any Utah academic institution. Any student who is interested in competing should attend the B2B kick-off and orientation events held in late September.

Interested students do not necessarily need an idea or a team, there will be numerous opportunities for you to meet others and develop ideas as the competition season kicks off. Please click here for the Bench to Bedside Student Registration Guide.

COMPETITION HELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH.