TEAM MEMBERS

i. Any team with an undergraduate or graduate student currently enrolled in a degree program at UVA, or post-doctoral trainees at the University, may enter the competition. Faculty, staff, and alumni are encouraged to participate by providing advice or mentoring and can be listed as team members.

ii.    A maximum 6 people are allowed on each team.

iii.    At least one UVA team member has to be physically present to be in the finals. Video conferencing is not allowed for in person competitions. 

iv.    If an entrant is in the finals for more than one submission, that entrant can only present for ONE presentation in the final competition.

v.    Only current UVA students may participate in the team’s presentation including Q&A.

PREVIOUS PARTICIPATION

i.    Projects can be entered into the UVA E-Cup at any stage.  To enter a project in the Launch! Competition, it does not have to be entered in the Concept or Discovery Competition.

ii.   Business projects that have been awarded prize money by placing in the Launch! competition in previous academic years are not eligible to compete. Business projects that have been Finalists are eligible to compete again.

iii.    Projects that have participated in the i.Lab Incubator program are eligible for the Launch! Competition.

FUNDING

i.    Teams must not have received any institutional funding for their project (i.e. the team cannot have outside investors.)

ii.    Teams must not have received non-institutional funding greater than $150,000. (Non-institutional funding includes contests, grants, friends and family, etc.)

ii.    Concepts based entirely on externally funded research may not compete but new applications of UVA funded research may compete.  In order to compete, participants must have legal access to, ownership of, or written permission from the owners of the technology they are presenting.

PRIZE DISTRIBUTION

You do not need to be incorporated to enter into the Launch! Competition, but winners of the competition MUST be incorporated to receive funds. All prize money will be paid directly to the company. Winners have up to one year to claim the funds.