The spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship pervades New Jersey City University. The NJCU Institute for Dispute Resolution (IDR) has announced a partnership with Mission 50 in Hoboken to host an inaugural entrepreneurship pitch competition on Tuesday, April 26.

The winner or winning team will receive a grand prize of $5000. The competition provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for NJCU students, regardless of grade or major, to tap into their entrepreneurial spirits. It also allows students to bring their ideas to life and use resources to turn an idea into a successful project.

For years, the School of Business has encouraged and provided the education and skills necessary to launch students down the entrepreneurial path, even establishing an entrepreneurial club to provide students with networking opportunities.

The president of the entrepreneurship club, Viktor Dank, said, “The entrepreneurship club is an important mechanism to advance and foster entrepreneurial and innovation culture at NJCU for all its student’s whether domestic or international. It is a safe place where you can be yourself and talk about relevant issues and topics in which innovators and entrepreneurs face.”

David Weiss, a professor and entrepreneur, is the founder of the IDR and also a huge advocate for innovation. Weiss encourages students to unleash the niche they have for entrepreneurship. When asked about the purpose of the competition and its benefits Weiss said, “This pitch competition is another building block for a sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation culture at NJCU. More opportunities like these programs advance ideas and foster a pathway for our students to create start-up platforms supporting their academic pursuits at a professional level.”

The inaugural pitch competition builds on NJCU’s relationship with Mission 50, which launched an innovation and commercialization lab in November to encourage entrepreneurial work from all four of Hudson County’s colleges. In addition, the competition winner will be invited to a countywide competition with winners from all four schools to compete for another $5,000.

Michael Arbitblit, assistant director of the IDR spoke about the benefits of the competition. Arbitblit said, “The Inaugural NJCU Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition is an excellent opportunity for our students to bring their idea creation into reality. We wish to provide the highest quality mentoring and support for the development of new innovative business concepts that are formed through student collaboration. This competition is open to all NJCU students from undergraduate, graduate, and even doctoral programs. The entrepreneurial spirit can be found in every field of study and this competition is a space where students can come together to learn from each other. With the amazing support of Mission 50, this is just the first step in many future pitch competitions to come. New Jersey City University takes pride in its innovative approach to engaging students and providing them unforgettable opportunities.”