The Iowa State Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship is hosting the College-by-College Pitch Off for seven Iowa State colleges from Feb. 10-22. The several colleges include the College of Human Sciences, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Ivy College of Design, the College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and the College of Veterinary Medicine. Individual students or teams that register will deliver a 90-second pitch in one of two categories: a business idea or an existing business they are working on.

According to the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship’s website, two entries from each category will have a chance to win $500 and $250 for first and second place, respectively, as well as the opportunity to compete in the Innovation Pitch Competition on February 25. The pitch offs for every college will be in the Student Innovation Center and will function within Iowa State’s COVID-19 guidelines. However, students can request to present their entry virtually.

Diana Wright, marketing and program coordinator for the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship and lead organizer of the competition, said she believes the competition is a valuable experience for students and contributes to Iowa State’s mission to develop critical thinking.

“It gives students the key opportunity to try something new … and to think about what problems would you want to solve if you could,” Wright said.

Wright also said her favorite part about organizing this event is seeing the variance in the types of pitches between colleges.

“It’s always really surprising to see what students are working on,” Wright said. “… Sometimes, they’re very well thought-out projects that literally just come from their classroom and the courses they might be taking.”

Registration is open to the first 25 students to apply in each college. There will be a pitch workshop from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday at the Student Innovation Center. To register for the workshop, visit the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship website.

For more information and to register for the competition, visit the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship website.