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EdTech

PITCH CONTEST & INNOVATION BOOTCAMP

Do you have an innovative EdTech idea?

Pitch your concept!

July 18, 2024

If you’ve got a brilliant idea for an EdTech tool that could transform teaching or learning, prepare to submit your pitch to the 2024 EdTech Pitch Contest. Winners will receive expert guidance and financial support to help turn their concept into a reality. 

You may or may not think of yourself as an entrepreneur. But consider this: who’s better equipped than those already within our education system to invent creative solutions to the problems they experience on a daily basis?

This contest will be open to any adult (18+) resident of Michigan with clear ties to our state’s education ecosystem. Don’t miss this opportunity to make a difference in education!

Sign up for reminders & tips

Would you like to receive reminders about upcoming deadlines for this year’s contest? Or maybe you’re intrigued but unsure where to start? We’ve got you covered. Fill out the form below to sign up for reminder emails and helpful tips and tricks from our innovation team.

Contest Timeline

EdTech Innovation Bootcamp

June 17 - 20, 2024

Do you have a business idea that will improve teaching or learning through the use of technology? Then join us for our 2024 EdTech Innovation Bootcamp. We’ll help you explore the idea, develop a business model, and identify your next steps for making your idea a reality!  

There is no cost to attend and Michigan Educators can earn 20 SCECH credits for completing the full Bootcamp. Space is limited. 2024 dates will be announced in early spring 2024.

Sign up for reminders to be notified when registration opens!

Some EdTech Innovation Bootcamp topics will include:

Revisit the 2023 Pitch Contest!

Join us as we journey back to the excitement of last year’s pitch contest. Rewatch the innovative ideas that captivated audiences and judges alike. Whether seeking inspiration for your own projects or simply relishing in the spirit of innovation, this retrospective is sure to ignite your imagination.

2024 Prizes

1st place

$10,000

 + Branding and logo design package + startup legal consultation

2nd place

$6,000

+ Logo design package + startup legal consultation

3rd place

$4,000

+ Logo design package + startup legal consultation​

The 4th and 5th place finalist will each receive $1,000.

Prior year's winners

2023

Read the 2023 press release.

2022

Read the 2022 press release.

Our 2023 partners & sponsors

The EdTech Pitch Contest & Innovation Bootcamp wouldn’t be possible without the support of our amazing partners and sponsors! This year’s contest is organized by Michigan Virtual, Spartan Innovations, Michigan Small Business Development Center, and MSU’s Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & InnovationGenerous sponsorship has also been provided by Michigan Creative, Foster Swift, Meemic, Consumers Energy, Michigan Education Association, CASE Credit Union, and LearningMate.

Our 2023 Partners
Spartan Innovations
MSBDC
Burgess Institute
Our Sponsors
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MC_logo_black
meemic-logo
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LearningMate-logo-hires (3)
Consumers
CASE Credit Union logo

See you next year!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2023 EdTech Pitch Contest!

The first-place prize went to Jonathan Marceau, a teacher at Monfort Elementary in the Utica Community School district, who will receive $10,000 in business startup grant funding, plus branding and logo design support, and legal consultation for Spelling Safari. Spelling Safari is a spelling curriculum reinvention and software solution providing elementary students with fun and adaptive learning. 

The other finalists were: 

  1. YouLearn, an AI-powered education platform offering customized content and smart tutoring, led by Advait Paliwal, a student at Michigan State University and a graduate of Troy High School.
  2. eKinomy, a role-play game designed to bring international trade and economics to life for elementary and middle school students, led by Sharon Jessica and Zhixin Li, graduate students in the Marsal School of Education at the University of Michigan.
  3. Spanish S.W.A.G., an on-demand language learning program designed to make language acquisition fun, interactive, and accessible to all, led by Jessica Feliz, an educator who has served students in Battle Creek, Detroit, and Berkley.  
  4. BiPSE, a classroom and behavior management app that helps teachers, parents, and students better monitor and manage behavioral support programs, led by Lori Kuntz and Megan Hines from Roosevelt Elementary School in Lakeshore Public Schools (Stevensville, Michigan) and Tammy Claes, an Occupational Therapist with Berrien RESA in Berrien Springs, Michigan. 

Watch the full EdTech Pitch Contest event below!

Contest Timeline

Eligibility Guidelines

The pitch contest and Bootcamp are open to any adult (18+) resident of Michigan with clear ties to our state’s education ecosystem. These may include but are not limited to:  

  • Teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, counselors, or Pre-K-12 school personnel 
  • Parents of school-aged children (Pre-K-12) 
  • Students of any major attending a college or university in Michigan, 
  • Staff from teacher prep programs at colleges and universities in Michigan 
  • Staff from organizations that serve or support Michigan’s Pre-K-12 education ecosystem. 

Teams are eligible so long as one member is a resident of Michigan with a clear tie to Michigan’s education ecosystem. No one may submit to the pitch contest as part of multiple teams, and no one may submit more than one idea.  

For the pitch contest specifically, ideas and concepts pitched must be pre-startup, start-up, or early stage of development. Entities must be unformed or less than two years old. Entities must have less than $20,000 in prior outside investment.  

Employees of organizing partners may submit a pitch and participate in the bootcamp but will not be eligible for prizes. 

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