2019 GCEC Awards
Submission Deadline07/24/2019
Description

Welcome

The GCEC awards are designed to showcase and celebrate the very best of university entrepreneurship! We are excited to read about the great achievements of university entrepreneurship programs and proud to recognize them. Each year, the GCEC recognizes the top entrepreneurship programs in eight (8) categories.  More than one winner may be selected in each category, except for the Nasdaq Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence.

Award winners will be announced at the annual awards ceremony at the 2019 GCEC Conference in Stockholm, Sweden on September 28, 2019.  A leader from your Center must be registered for and attend the conference to be considered for an award. 

Nominations must be received by midnight Monday, July 22, 2019 to be considered.

For questions, please contact one of the following:

Holly DeArmond, GCEC Awards Committee

Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship

Email: hdearmond@rhsmith.umd.edu

Mary Lynn Fernau

Senior Director, External Relations and Communications
Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship

Email: mlfernau@rice.edu  

Award Categories

Awards can be submitted in the following eight categories:

  1. Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center

  2. Outstanding Contributions to Venture Creation

  3. Exceptional Activities in Entrepreneurship Across Disciplines

  4. Excellence in Specialty Entrepreneurship Education

  5. Excellence in Entrepreneurship Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation

  6.  Outstanding Student Engagement & Leadership

  7.  NASDAQ Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence

  8. Legacy Award

You can nominate in multiple award categories.  A committee of judges, led by past winners, selects the award recipients.

Rules

Rules

  • Each Nomination is limited to 3 pages (PLUS, a cover page with contact information), and should be submitted through the Reviewr platform.  All documents should be submitted as PDF files.  An Appendix and/or Supplemental information (maximum 10 pages) should be provided and must be appended to the 3-page Nomination, and sent as a single PDF file. The total PDF file should be no more than 14 pages (cover page, 3-page nomination, and 10-page appendix) and no more than 10MB.

  • One exception is the NASDAQ Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award. The nomination can be up to 5 pages (plus cover page and 10-page appendix). The total page count maximum for the NASDAQ application with appendix is 16 pages and 10MB in size.

  • Center Directors should submit nominations for the category that they believe best fits their Center’s accomplishments. It is a Center Director’s responsibility to evaluate the category that can best be articulated in terms of their Center’s focus, achievements, and purpose. A university may apply for awards in multiple categories, if they believe they have strengths in multiple categories.

  • Awards in each category will be made to the centers that demonstrate exceptional achievement within the category. There will NOT be a minimum or maximum number of awards in each category. It is at the judges’ discretion.

  • Awards will be announced and presented at the annual GCEC Conference (Sept. 26-28).

  • A representative from each nominated university must be present to accept the award.

  • Any award winning school will not be eligible the following year to submit for an award in the same category. (Moreover it is unlikely that a school would ever be considered to win the same category twice unless there are extenuating circumstances). In addition, winning schools may be asked to have a representative on the Award Judging Committee to evaluate nominations the following year.

Preparing the Nomination

  • We want you to tell us what makes your center shine! The following guidelines are designed to facilitate a fair and simple basis for nominations, review, and award selections.

  • Identify the specific category for which the center is nominated. Identify the center and institution names and contact information for the center director and for the individual submitting on behalf of the center. Unfortunately, if the category is not clearly identified, the nomination will not be considered.

  • In all responses, please clearly indicate the center’s role in highlighted activities, and/or specific relationship to the center of individuals, programs, or activities that are highlighted.

  • Be sure to address each item in the nomination criteria, even if the answer is N/A. Once these specific items have been addressed, you may add information that you think is relevant, however it must tie to the category in order to be considered. This should be done in no more than 3 pages!

Appendix

  • Many Award Categories have suggested or required appendix materials. The appendix is limited to 10 pages, including the suggested materials according to the Award Category.

  • The appendix should be appended to the 3-page Nomination and submitted as a single PDF document, together with the 3-page nomination. The maximum combined file size is 10MB.

  • If you choose to submit optional information in the appendix, we recommend that you include examples of programs, initiatives or courses that visually capture what you have described in your 3-page nomination. You may include PDF’s of marketing materials, fact sheets, collateral, brochures, PowerPoint files, flyers, testimonials, photographs, or other information that supports your nomination. Do NOT simply use the appendix to include additional text about your program.

  • Also, when including supporting materials, please be sure to clearly indicate how the items relate specifically to the award category. In other words, please submit only those that specifically tie to the category and criteria. Ad hoc materials that do not specifically tie to criteria requests will be excluded from evaluation and may negatively affect the evaluation.

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