UPitchNJ is a consortium representing entrepreneurship education center directors and entrepreneurship faculty at New Jersey’s four-year colleges and universities. Created nine years ago, UPitchNJ’s main activity is to sponsor an annual statewide collegiate startup competition sponsored by Nokia Bell Labs. Undergraduate students interested in participating in UPitchNJ should contact their university’s entrepreneurship educational program for more details.
Nine universities will compete in UPitchNJ 2024: Drew University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Rutgers University New Brunswick, Rutgers University Newark, Seton Hall University and William Paterson University. Other higher education institutions which have competed in past UPitchNJ competitions include Kean University, Monmouth University, Montclair State University and Stevens Institute of Technology.
What makes UPitchNJ unique is that Nokia Bell Labs executives serve as judges. The judges will evaluate the student teams on the innovativeness and originality of their startup ideas. The contest judges looked for creative and innovative thinking about markets, products and services. The teams will be evaluated on their perceived ability to execute the idea and turn it into a viable, profitable business, and/or venture with significant social value.
UPitchNJ’s aim is to highlight the ingenuity and creativity of today’s college entrepreneurs, whom are increasingly launching businesses from their dorm rooms. As entrepreneurship educators in New Jersey, we want to provide our entrepreneurship students with a networking forum with other students, mentors and potential investors.
We believe UPitchNJ will help brand New Jersey – home to Nokia Bell Labs and Thomas Edison – as the innovative state that it is, plus encourage young entrepreneurs to develop their businesses here, leading to economic growth and job creation.