20 Teams Participate in YU’s Fourth Annual Innovation Challenge Orientation
53 Yeshiva University students met in Furst Hall on Feb. 11 for the orientation and kickoff event of the 2025 Innovation Challenge.
A joint project of the Shevet Glaubach Center and the Yeshiva University Innovation Lab, the Innovation Challenge offers the opportunity for all YU students to develop entrepreneurial skills and solve real-world issues. Per their webpage, the competition is designed to “guide students through an entrepreneurial journey.”
During the orientation, the Innovation Challenge leadership selected nine of the 20 teams that had submitted proposals to advance to the next phase. The best performing teams will have the opportunity to win cash prizes.
In preparation for pitch night, students will develop solutions to everyday problems that will be presented in front of a panel. Teams are assigned mentors who guide the students throughout the competition. Business executive Lorraine Marchand, a former faculty member at the Katz school, is serving as the Innovation Challenge advisor. According to the webpage, the mentors will provide weekly feedback on the teams’ research, market plans and pitches.
This year’s Innovation Challenge inspired many pitches related to artificial intelligence. Additional ideas focus on health and wellness, parking and blockchain based messaging. The teams will present their pitches again in four weeks, when a team of judges will evaluate which teams will advance to the final pitch night.
2025 pitch night will be held on Tuesday, March 25, in Beren Campus’s Yagoda Commons.
Participants will be provided access to SparkRockets, an AI tool that aids businesses’ research. According to the team responsible for organizing the competition, SparkRockets provides users with a business framework for their solution in as little as “60 seconds.” Recommendations can include a value proposition, customer base and ideas for branding.
“It’s a great starter kit for the teams,” the team told The Commentator. “They have to consider and deliberate the AI tool’s recommendations with their team and develop a plan that makes sense for their solution and their audience.”
The first Innovation Challenge sponsored by YU took place in February of 2022, when 16 teams competed for a cash prize. The program has since expanded to include 81 registrants representing 24 YU programs and majors, including seven Katz School programs, Sy Syms, Cardozo, Azrieli, Revel, RIETS, Wurzweiler, Yeshiva College and Stern College. Registrants are overwhelmingly graduate students, who represent around 70% of participants. For the first time this year, prize money will be awarded to both the winners and the runners-up of the competition.
According to the Innovation Lab team, the goal of the Innovation Challenge is to expose students to entrepreneurship and help them consider lesser known fields. Moreover, the program will train students to articulate their ideas and form products that investors would be willing to fund and bring to market. Students across disciplines will benefit from both objectives, the team said.
The program will not provide additional funding for winners, but teams can network with experts on pitch night and continue working on their potential business ventures. The Innovation Lab is in the process of developing a mentorship program for teams who wish to pursue their idea further.
“We’re so excited to see students from nine schools and 24 majors and programs across the undergraduate and master’s degree levels come together for this pitch competition,” Natasha Srulowitz, strategic chief of staff and director of operations at the Innovation Lab, told The Commentator. “The range of ideas and perspectives is inspiring, and it’s exactly what makes innovation and new perspectives thrive.”
“We can’t wait to see how their ideas evolve with our training and mentorship! This is all very exciting.”
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Photo Caption: 2025 Innovation Challenge participants
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University
