“Shark Tank”-Style Pitch Event Expands Northern Arizona University's DOE Collegiate Wind Competition Team

Feb. 27, 2018

Northern Arizona University professors have developed a clever solution to bring business expertise to their DOE Collegiate Wind Competition team: a “Shark Tank”-style pitch contest, designed to spur interest in wind energy and the Collegiate Wind Competition.

Twelve student teams across the United States—including Northern Arizona University—were selected to participate in the 2018 DOE competition, which will be held May 8–10 at the American Wind Energy Association’s WINDPOWER conference in Chicago, Illinois. Over the past semester, students and their advisors have worked to shape team structure, develop business models, and fine-tune the skills needed for their team to perform well in a competition that merges business, engineering, and other project-specific specializations. But building a competitive business model from scratch on a short time frame can be a challenge—so Northern Arizona University decided to teach innovation with innovation. Learn more.