November 12, 2009

The world’s most innovative week – Global Entrepreneurship Week with millions of participants worldwide – hits Fresno on Wednesday, Nov. 18, with “The Edge,” an entrepreneurship challenge held at the University Business Center at California State University, Fresno.

The Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will host the event that features area students creating a product within a half-hour for judging. The registration deadline is 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16.

The goal of Global Entrepreneurship Week is to “inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity.”

Teams from high schools, community colleges and Fresno State will be challenged to take a group of everyday objects and create a real or make-believe product from the items targeted toward a specific audience. Judges will decide which group created the most innovative product with the most value, explained Genelle Taylor, associate director of the Lyles Center.

“Students will be judged on creativity, degree of risk taken and degree of entertainment,” Taylor said.

During a three-minute presentation to the judges, students must include the product’s name, features and benefit to the customer.

In 2008, Global Entrepreneurship Week’s first year, more than 3 million participants were involved, including 100 countries with 25,000 activities and 8,800 partners.

The Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is one of the leading entrepreneurial centers in California. The Lyles Center aims to help both the community and students achieve their entrepreneurial goals.

For more information, contact Taylor at 347.6832 or genellet@csufresno.edu or Nancy Kobata at 559-294-2045.