About 45 student entrepreneurs from six Connecticut colleges competed to create ways to fix problems faced by Connecticut manufacturers in the first-ever Manufacturing Industry Launch Weekend held Oct. 14 and 15 at Housatonic Community College.
Teams of students from HCC, University of Bridgeport, Wesleyan University, Southern Connecticut State University, Central Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University selected from among three business “challenges.” They had to develop solutions that combined practicality, cost-efficiency and fidelity to the core missions of the companies that posed them. Judges awarded winning teams $1,000 in prize money per challenge.
Four Housatonic students were among the 11 total members of the three winning teams: Pablo Aca, Ian Brown, Rebecca DelValle and Tuere Williams.
The event was sponsored by the Connecticut Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education, an affiliate of the Entrepreneurship Foundation. Corporate participants included ESPN, R.C. Bigelow Inc. of Fairfield and Trifecta Ecosystems of Meriden.
