Overview
The Wisconsin Energy and Sustainability Challenge has been discontinued as of Fall 2018.
Students at UW-Madison who are interested in campus competitions for their innovations are encouraged to enter the Transcend Madison competition or join the Innovate Network to learn more about other resources, events, and competitions.
This website is being maintained to preserve a historical record of the competition and to provide links to other useful resources for those interested in energy/sustainability entrepreneurship.
Introduction
Developing new solutions to advance sustainable and affordable energy is an important part of keeping the U.S. competitive and resilient. Historically, solutions to pressing global issues have emerged from innovative approaches and fresh, inspired perspectives. Students at UW–Madison are exceptionally suited for solving the sustainability challenge through innovation and entrepreneurship.
Among research universities, UW–Madison ranks in the top ten, with an entrepreneurship program ranking in the top 25 in the nation. As a university, it is second only to Harvard in the number of alumni who are CEO's of Fortune 500 companies and ranks first in the number of students who have worked in the Peace Corps. This famous entrepreneurial spirit and vision for social change make our campus ideal for a competition focused on the issue of global sustainability. Students from all disciplines at UW–Madison have contributed many creative solutions to the Wisconsin Energy & Sustainability Challenge.
Guidelines
Prior Winners
2018 Competition Winners
2016 Competition Winners
2015 Competition Winners
2014 Competition Winners
2013 Competition Winners
2012 Competition Winners
2011 Competition Winners
2010 Competition Winners
2009 Competition Winners
Where are they now? WEI caught up with a few prior WESC winners for this news article
Resources
Past Entry Samples:
Entrepreneurship Resources
- The INSITE Entrepreneurship Guide provided by the School of Business provides a searchable set of resources on campus and in the Madison community, including competitions, mentorship, and training.
- Wisconsin Technology Council
- Steve Blank's Tools for Entrepreneurs
- F6S (Startup Accelerators, Contests and Jobs)
- Daily Resource for Entrepreneurs
- Market Research
- VentureWell (formerly National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance - NCIIA)
- U.S. Copyright Office
- U.S. Patent Office
Materials, Supplies, and Prototyping Resources
- Campus Printing Resources for Students (large format, etc.)
- StudentPrint (student-run printing services)
- Grainger Engineering Innovation Design Lab (campus makerspace)
- Garage Physics (campus makerspace)
- College of Engineering Student Shop (advanced machining/tooling; requires applying for permit)
- Sector67 (off-campus makerspace)
Other Energy/Sustainability Competitions
Other Campus Competitions
For more information on these contests, please email UWWESC@gmail.com.
Writing your Plan
- Writing Center - Free Writing Assistance
- Pitch Deck Guidelines from Tech Coast Angels
- SCORE - Business Planning Templates
Energy/Sustainability Organizations on Campus
- Wisconsin Energy Institute
- SAGE (Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment)
- Weston Roundtable Lecture Series
- Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
- Office of Sustainability
- CFIRE (Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education)
- eHub (Energy-focused student group)
Cleantech Resources
- Clean Energy Trust - Regional Cleantech Competition
- ARPA-E University - Webinar Series for Cleantech Commercialization
- Cleantech Open Accelerator - National Accelerator Program
- Incubatenergy Network - Network of Incubators/Accelerators
- WERCBench Labs Accelerator - Milwaukee-Based Accelerator
- NREL Industry Growth Forum - National Event for Early-Stage Cleantech Startups
- Chain Reaction Innovations Incubator - Incubator based at Argonne National Lab
- New Energy Nexus - Accelerators and Start-up Programs
Information on Climate Change
Sponsors
The Wisconsin Energy and Sustainability Challenge is supported by:
| The Dvorak Family | The Global Stewards Society | The David Marca Memorial Fund for Student Energy Projects |  |
with additional support from the following departments or institutes at the UW–Madison:
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Sponorship Opportunities
We are seeking partners to help us improve the competition. Please contact Scott Williams if you are interested in supporting the Wisconsin Energy & Sustainability Challenge.