IdeaLabs 2022 Showcases Area Talent
Student innovators from across Northeast Ohio convened on April 7 for the annual ideaLabs competition, hosted this year by Lake Erie College and Cleveland’s SmartShape Design.
IdeaLabs is a regional idea competition featuring students who have already won their own campus competition, earning the honor of representing their schools and competing to be recognized as regional champion. ideaLabs is a program of Entrepreneurship Education Consortium (EEC), a group of 11 Northeast Ohio public and private colleges and universities committed to providing practical, experiential, and theoretical entrepreneurship education to college students of all disciplines.
John Carroll University’s Uniswipe took first place and $4,000 for a mobile app that provides multiple functions, including connecting students to ideal roommates, allowing students to select dorm rooms, and helping students update their meal plans.
Second place and $2,500 went to Cleveland State University’s Share and Solve, for its mobile app providing peer support services.
Lake Erie College’s The Access Theatre Project earned third place and $1,000 for a pay-what-you-will theater, making the arts accessible to everyone.
Fourth place and $500 was earned by Filter Fresh, another John Carroll University business, which features a cold air diffuser that releases pleasing scents throughout the home and replaces candles and plug-ins.
Ashland University’s AS SQRD earned fifth place for its audio system that automatically adjusts the volume for those with auditory sensitivities.
EEC member schools currently include Ashland University, Baldwin Wallace University, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kent State University, Lake Erie College, Lorain County Community College, Mount Union College, and the University of Akron.