A three-member University of Southern Indiana student team won the Anchor Ideation Challenge sponsored by Anchor Industries and the University of Southern Indiana College of Business. Winning team members are Chelsea Schmidt, Mt. Vernon, IN, junior, marketing major, Sarah Krampe, Evansville, sophomore, marketing major, and Adam Kaps, Indianapolis, freshman, marketing major. The top team was selected today after nine USI student teams made presentations for competition judges.
The top team won a $2,500 award for its party tent idea. The presenters will have an opportunity to interview for a summer internship with Anchor. If the company develops a contest idea that leads to a patent, students involved in the design will be listed on the patent.
Sara Rasnick, a junior art major from Shelbyville, and Jon Bond, a senior finance major from Henderson, Kentucky, were the runner-up team. They received a $1,500 award.
Dr. Mohammed Khayum, dean of the College of Business, attended the judging. He said, “The finalists displayed considerable imagination in their tent designs. They deserve our respect for their courage to take part in the competition and to immerse themselves for over two months in this challenge. I was very impressed with the perseverance, hard work, and the creative combination of knowledge demonstrated in the distinctive designs they generated.”ÂÂ
The competition coordinator Dr. Chad Milewicz, assistant professor of marketing, said, “The annual Ideation Challenge is an opportunity for USI students to achieve unimagined potential through immersion in a creative challenge outside the classroom.
“Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors representing three colleges at USI achieved through this Challenge what most college graduates never experience,” he said. “These teams presented original ideas that impressed and excited the lead executives of a global organization that is the leader in its industry! This is one example of how USI stands for opportunity.”
Six judges representing Anchor and the community selected the winner based on aesthetic appeal, ease of installation and maintenance, ability to increase brand awareness, simplicity of storage and transport durability, environmental responsibility, and adaptability.
Milewicz said, “The judges unanimously agreed that all of the presentations were impressive and that each idea has potentially valuable elements. There is no indication that a particular idea will be scheduled for manufacturing in the short term, but innovation is a process. Elements of each idea raised the eyebrows of the judging panel and have the potential to influence future innovations in tent design.
“Every idea captured the imagination, but the winning ideas each did so in some unique way. We do not have the official final scores for the teams, but the scores were very close.”
Pete Mogavero, Anchor chairman and president, introduced the contest and challenged students to develop creative ways to make event tents. He appeared at USI in September at the Executive-in-Residence program.
