Inspiration abounds with area entrepreneurs recognized at the CERD Awards Ceremony, Light It Up!
Students collaborate to research and prepare for their business plans
Students at UNK’s Biz Kidz Entrepreneurship Camp work on designing their marketing collateral
Four middle-school girls from Dorchester NE pitch their jewelry business at Big Idea Kearney
Winner of Big Idea 2019 aims to connect musicians and venues with technology
UNK students put it all on the line at Big Idea Kearney 2018
All high school students from across the state of Nebraska are welcome to enter their BIG ideas in the 2nd annual Big Idea Nebraska- High School pitch competition. To enter an idea, submit a two-minute video pitch by March 1, 2022 at 11:59 pm. A group of judges will review all of the submitted videos and will select the top 10 who will then be part of a LIVESTREAMED event that will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. The top 10 will pitch their ideas live to a panel of expert judges. The livestreamed event will be open for the public to view, and the top prize winners will be selected by popular vote. The top prize winner will receive $1,000, second place $500, and third place $250.
First Place: $1000
Second Place: $500
Third Place: $250
The prizes will be handed out to the winners after the Big Idea contest. Each winner will need to fill out the appropriate paperwork in order to receive their payment. Payment can take up to 14 days to receive once the process is sent to the University of Nebraska at Kearney Accounts Payable Department.
1st Place - $1,000
2nd Place - $500
3rd Place - $250
Honorable Mention
Matching Scholarships to UNK for the top 3 award winners.
A video must be uploaded onto YouTube in the following formats: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, or WebM and must be no more than 2 minutes long. All copyrighted material must be removed. When uploading the video please select "UNLISTED" as the submission type.
Submission must be in English or subtitled in English.
Contestants will be notified first by email and then by telephone. If attempted notification is returned as undeliverable, if a contestant cannot be verified, or if a contestant is otherwise unable to take part in the Big Idea event on March 30, 2022 beginning at 9:30 am through the entirety of the event, the contestant will forfeit their top ten spot and it will be given to an alternate contestant.
The University of Nebraska at Kearney and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Rural Development considers all submitted business ideas as confidential. However, we cannot guarantee complete confidentiality.
The University of Nebraska at Kearney and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Rural Development are not liable for exposure you may receive from and beyond this event. It is the responsibility of the owner(s) of the intellectual property (idea) to decide what information should and should not be included in deliverables. If you are planning to "sell" your product/service, we recommend that you contact the University's Technology Transfer Center - NUTech Ventures - or a patent attorney for guidance/direction before you submit your idea.