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Competitions for student startups to take place during Spring Break

Student Startup Madness, a tournament-style competition for college student start-up groups created by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, will debut over Spring Break at a South by Southwest event in Austin, Texas.

Newhouse officials recently announced the creation of the event, which is scheduled for March 12 from 9 a.m. to noon at Maria Maria La Cantina in Austin, according to a Feb. 16 SU News release.

The launch of the program is in conjunction with SXSW, a company that puts on conferences and festivals.

The competition will debut with a kick off ‘pitchfest’ event during the SXSW Interactive Festival. There, students will be able to pitch their ventures and win prizes, according to the release.

Sean Branagan, the director of Newhouse’s Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, conceptualized Student Startup Madness and promoted the idea to get Newhouse students involved. He said that approximately 20,000 students attended last year.



The kickoff event is the precursor for the 2012-13 nationwide tournament, according to the release. The online entry period begins this summer, followed by regional events at universities across the country in fall 2012.

The nationwide tournament will culminate with a final round in March 2013 in front of a celebrity panel of well-known entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and investors at SXSW Interactive, according to the release.

To enter the tournament, students signed up online through the website for the event, Branagan said.

‘This gives students the opportunity to pitch their digital media ideas,’ he said. Entries for the tournament closed March 2.

Teams for the tournament will be announced at the end of this week, Branagan said. He said applicants do not just include students from Syracuse University, but from other schools and countries as well.

Lorraine Branham, the dean of Newhouse, helped organize the project. She said she is excited for the tournament.

‘We hope it will be an ongoing project and something that students will be involved in each year,’ Branham said.

She said she feels that previously there were not enough opportunities for communications students and entrepreneurial activities involving digital media and other forms.

‘We’re dipping our toe in the water with Student Startup Madness,’ she said. ‘It’s one more opportunity for our students who might want to go in a different direction.’

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