The University of Southern California announced today that a partnership led by
Caltech, UCLA and USC have been selected to receive a $360,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a national business plan competition for young cleantech entrepreneurs. The winning proposal is one of six awarded regionally as part of a three-year, $2 million program, funded by the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to develop competitions that inspire students to come up with innovative business plans involving clean-energy technology. Called First Look West (FLoW), the partnership will also include Chapman University, the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego, energy company OnGreen, Inc, and student leaders from campus groups, such as eClubs, Net Impact, Engineers for a Sustainable World and NOBE, the National Organization of Business and Engineering. FLoW builds on First Look LA, a program organized by Caltech, USC, and UCLA that showcases research and innovation to investors and has been successfully nurturing academic entrepreneurship in Southern California for five years.
The regional contests will be completed by May 1, 2012. Regional winners, selected by a panel of judges, will each receive $100,000 from the DOE and a chance to compete for a National Grand Prize in the final competition held at the DOE in Washington, D.C. in early summer 2012. The competition is part of Startup America, the Obama Administration’s campaign to inspire and promote entrepreneurship. The purpose of this national initiative is to provide student participants with the skills needed to start new businesses, and transform promising energy technologies into innovative energy products that will create jobs, boost American competitiveness, and strengthen the economy.
“Creating new industries in clean-energy technology is a necessity for Los Angeles and an opportunity that cannot be missed,” said Dean Yannis C. Yortsos of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. “In today’s global economy, which is based more than ever before on the creation of intellectual property, the Los Angeles area needs the entrepreneurship ethos and the intellectual capital and dynamism offered by our three partner institutions. The USC Viterbi School of Engineering is very excited about engaging young engineers and entrepreneurs in this field and looks forward to the development of a flourishing innovation ecosystem in the area.”
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