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JERSEY CITY, N.J. | The ��ɫ���� (NJCU) Institute for Dispute Resolution (IDR) will host a live pitch competition to showcase young entrepreneurs and innovators on Thursday, December 10. The live, virtual event will begin at 11 a.m. and feature a lineup of special guests from the areas of higher education, state government and nonprofits.

The event is an outcome of the NJCU IDR’s Connecting Bridges and Borders Program and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation NJCU—Jersey City Connect Project.

NJCU President Sue Henderson, Judith Sheft, the Executive Director of the ��ɫ���� Commission of Science, Innovation and Technology, Jersey City Council President Joyce E. Watterman, and Jersey City Councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey are among the notable guests who will participate in the event.

The event, entitled “IDR Pitch Competition: STEM From Dance” is a case study that tasks teams to pitch a hypothetical expansion plan into utilizing STEM From Dance as their model—a New York-based nonprofit organization that promotes dance as an avenue to enhance the development of engineering, technology and computer coding skills in young women of color.

According to the National Science Board, women make up 47% of the current workforce but only 28% of the current science and engineering workforce. Of this percentage, women of color comprise about 5%. Therefore, STEM From Dance aims to creatively build up the next generation of women leaders with the resources and confidence to succeed.

Each team, consisting of Global Business students of Professor David Weiss — the founder and director of NJCU’s IDR — must create a presentation featuring a mission statement, plans for funding, target market insights, strategic partnerships, and sustainability forecast among their criteria. Each group is made up of 2-4 students and is assigned a mentor to oversee their pitch. These students will present before three judges and be scored on a five-category rubric based on a scale of 1-20. The highest totaled score will be crowned the winner.

These competitions are driven by students to engage in idea creation for the advancement of innovation and entrepreneurship with real-world models that display a semester’s worth of preparation and mentorship of these talented emerging business leaders.

A core goal of the IDR is inspiring and encouraging innovative thought from students, and through this program, the IDR aims to showcase ways in which young people can tap into their entrepreneurial and creative talents in and around Jersey City, and beyond.

Special Guests:

• Event Host: Corey Dion Lewis, Founder of Actio Health and Host of The Healthy Project Podcast
• Opening Address: Yamilée Toussaint Beach, Founder & CEO of STEM From Dance
• Opening Address: Judith Sheft, Executive Director of the ��ɫ���� Commission of Science, Innovation and Technology
• Special Appearance: Councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey of Jersey City’s Ward B
• Special Appearance: Dr. Sue Henderson, President of NJCU
• Special Appearance and Viewer’s Choice Award Presenter: Joyce E. Watterman, City of Jersey City Council President

It is the second pitch competition hosted by the NJCUIDR this week; the institute previously hosted an arts-based community wine bar concept on December 7.

��ɫ���� the Institute for Dispute Resolution

The Institute for Dispute Resolution at NJCU is a platform at the School of Business that promotes sustained economic and commercial success rooted in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), promoting collaboration through international mediation and negotiation techniques and practices. Grounded in theories of business and behavioral sciences, the IDR fosters global commerce through entrepreneurship and innovation modalities, to manage disputes in cross-border, commercial, and general conflict resolution forums.

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Contact:
Ira Thor, Senior Director of University Communications and Media Relations | ithor@njcu.edu | 201-200-3301