RESEARCH & INNOVATION
Staff Show Their Inventive Traits
by Camille Russell
judges who were looking for impactful and innovative ideas from individuals that could lead to income generation for their unit or department and the campus. The venture by this duo was driven from their observation that while the desire is present to explore entrepreneurship, there seems to be a lack in available support. “Entrepreneurial talent is everywhere, but entrepreneurial resources and opportunities aren’t. VOIS’s mission is to level the playing field by bringing those resources and opportunities to entrepreneurs via our platform,” David shared. Since winning the competition, the pair has continued to work on improving the platform. It was determined that additional partners beyond the campus would be better suited to support the project. Through introductions by the campus, VOIS was pitched to Invest Barbados and Export Barbados who showed keen interest. In December 2022, VOIS was part of a cohort of more than 400 global entrepreneurs and start-ups in the Draper University’s Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship Program . This was facilitated through the regional Kanoo Innovation Hub , and although still in its infancy, VOIS placed 11 th in Kanoo’s capstone pitch competition.
Innovate! first prize winners Clint Hurley (left) and David Smith
F irst prize winner , the Hurley . The platform serves to connect entrepreneurs in the region with resources, information, and opportunities needed to set up and improve their business processes. The co-creators, who are also colleagues in the Campus Information Technology Services (CITS) department, took the top prize of $30,000 for their development of the virtual networking platform. The IT solution which provides “tools to enable entrepreneurs to evaluate their options and connect them to the right person at the right time” impressed the competition Virtual Open Innovation Sandbox (VOIS) , was created by information technology partners David Smith and Clint
A virtual networking platform, a research academy, and an international language foundation course are among the latest entrepreneurial ventures coming out of the Cave Hill campus. These products and services emerged as the top prizes of the Innovate! Cave Hill Campus New Venture Challenge during an awards ceremony in March 2022.
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