2011-2012 Archived Catalog Information

11/6/2007

Close to 100 faculty, students and their friends attended the 2nd Annual New Product Innovation Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 2. George Davison, CEO of Davison Design, a company that specializes in cutting-edge product design and development, delivered the keynote address.

The New Product Innovation Competition was established by the Sawyer Business School in 2006 to encourage innovation among its students. 

“Innovation is the key to everything we do,” said Sushil Bhatia, Competition Founder, and Executive in Residence at the Sawyer Business School, where he teaches entrepreneurship, global innovation and new product development.  “It is essential to new product development, entrepreneurship and even in our relationships.  Companies that do not innovate generally fail.  By establishing the New Product Innovation Competition, we are teaching our students to embrace change and become better business leaders.”

Entries are submitted and judged by a team of entrepreneurs, intellectual property specialists and venture capital professionals.  Students compete for cash prizes of $3,500 (first), $1,000 (second) and $500 (third).  This year, the Urvashi Bhatia Green Product Award ($1,000) will be awarded for a new product idea that is environment-friendly. Also, this year, freshman students enrolled in the required business core course Business Foundations will have an opportunity to compete for a special $500 prize.   The winners include:

MGT 101 Award

Prize: $500
Product: Laptop and Compact Printer in One
Innovator: Kayla O'Leary, BSBA student

Urvashi Bhatia Green Product

Prize: $1,000
Product: Angelica DaSilva, Christopher Martin, and Jennifer Sherman BSBA and Griffin Honors Students

1st Prize : $3,500

Product: NeuSpoon
Innovators: Dawn Brucale, Mike Peganato, Matt Plante, John Hawkes, and Scott Ariel, Exec MBA students

2nd Prize: $1,000

Product: Lessons from Literature
Innovator: Richard A. Lena, BS '91

3rd Prize (TIE): $250

Product: Automatic Pill Dispenser
Innovator: Alimatou Ndiaye, MBA student

3rd Prize (TIE): $250

Product: Baby Bottle with Pop Top
Innovator: Christina Manuel, BSBA student

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