This Friday Columbus State University students will have the opportunity to present their invention ideas to a winner of ABC’s hit tv series, Shark Tank. The university is hosting its first ever annual invention competition on Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. in the Center for Commerce and Technology auditorium. This event is open to the public, and a reception will follow after the competition.

Organized by a group of CSU faculty and advised by StartUp Columbus, the competition includes four teams who have designed inventions for a top prize of $500 and the chance to be entered into the Georgia InVenture Prize Competition in April. Each team has less than three minutes to pitch their ideas to the panel of judges.

The competing teams are as follows:

• 1st Hand Pal – Created by Ashley Mayer, a Communications major, the app enables first generation college students to access resources to help them adapt to college.

• SimBa – Created by Valencia Coleman, a Computer Science major, this game simulation helps users determine their business management styles.

• Convenient Port – Created by Cameron Stone, a Marketing major, and Maxine Rose Sanchez, an Art major, this accessible, portable charging station offers multiple, individual charging pods.

• ABLY – Created by Shannon Eshman, a Special Education major, and Elijah Neundorfer, a Computer Science major, this app assists students who have intellectual and developmental disabilities to learn skills that enhance their independence to do day-to-day activities through literary-based behavioral interventions (LBBI’s).

The competition judges include Lou Childs, Columbus-native and co-founder of the mother-daughter team that developed SlumberPods. Childs, who is a former second place winner of CSU' community business plan competition, recently became a winner of ABC’s Shark Tank program. Other judges are Ben McMinn, Director of Start Up Columbus; David Mitchell, Director of Enterprise Development at CSU; and entrepreneurs Steve Taylor and Russ Carreker.

In preparation for the competition, students were offered a series of workshops held in collaboration with Start Up Columbus. The winning team will compete with nine other state universities in the Georgia InVenture Prize Competition. Hosted by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the second annual Georgia InVenture Prize Competition at Georgia Public Broadcasting is scheduled for April 1-2. The teams will showcase their inventions for the chance to win grants, scholarships, and the “InVenture Cup” trophy.

Last year, Hannah Turner and Mary Harrell entered the first Georgia InVenture Prize Competition with their lab equipment tool, ChemAid. Created as an aid to assist visually impaired students in chemistry labs, ChemAid uses QR codes to provide learners with informational webpages that give explanations about lab equipment through auditory descriptions and enlarged text.

All teams competing in CSU’s student invention competition will also be encouraged to enter CSU’s annual business plan competition later this year. The annual event is open to students and members of the community.