For Release:         Immediate – June 27, 2016

Contact:                Jerry Gretzinger, Vice President of Strategic Communications and Public Relations ­

(518) 956-7359 | jgretzinger@sunypoly.edu

SEFCU, SUNY Polytechnic Institute Announce Winning Women and Minority Student-Led Teams in 7^th Annual New York Business Plan Competition

MWBE student teams from Mohawk Valley Community College, SUNY Oneonta, and SUNY Poly to share $10,000 prize in new competition category made possible by generous support from SEFCU

[caption id="attachment_22658" align="alignright" width="349"] (Group Photo) Three outstanding MWBE participants in the New York Business Plan Competition are recognized at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany Monday. Christina Cambria of Mohawk Valley Community College, Patrizia Spears of SUNY Poly, and Ziquan Miao from SUNY Oneonta shared in the $10,000 prize made possible through SEFCU.[/caption]

Albany, NY – Supporting entrepreneurial opportunities for students of all backgrounds, SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) and Title Sponsor SEFCU today announced that three teams made up of a majority of women and/or minority students, including teams from Mohawk Valley Community College, SUNY Oneonta, and SUNY Poly, were selected to receive Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises (MWBE) awards after successfully competing in the seventh annual New York Business Plan Competition final which took place April 29 at SUNY Poly’s Albany NanoTech Complex. The teams will each share a portion of the $10,000 award, made possible by competition Title Sponsor SEFCU.

“SEFCU is proud to recognize MWBE contestants in the 2016 New York Business Plan Competition. New York State’s entrepreneurial opportunities must be open to all, no matter gender or race," said Michael J. Castellana, president and CEO of SEFCU. "I saw first-hand the strength of the plans put forth by these MWBE contestants. If our state is going to continue to succeed, we must ensure that companies built on diversity are given the funding and support needed to thrive."

“Combined with New York State’s high-tech revolution, platforms such as the New York Business Plan Competition offer unique opportunities for college students to transform ideas into actual businesses, and we are thrilled to recognize the top MWBE teams for their contributions to this critical event,” said Dr. Pradeep Haldar, SUNY Poly Interim Dean of the College of Nanoscale Engineering and Technology Innovation; Vice President of Entrepreneurship Innovation and Clean Energy Programs. “We are thankful for support from Title Sponsor SEFCU for funding this important award that shows any team with a powerful idea can catalyze pioneering business innovations and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs no matter their background, ensuring that opportunities in New York are opportunities for all.”

[caption id="attachment_22657" align="alignleft" width="318"] SUNY Poly student led team, Kid Sentry, is recognized at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany Monday with a 2016 New York Business Plan Competition MWBE award made possible by SEFCU. Pictured left to right are Pradeep Haldar, SUNY Poly; Patrizia Spears, Kid Sentry; and Michael Castellana, SEFCU President and CEO.[/caption]

The first team selected for an MWBE award, Underground Greens, led by a student from Mohawk Valley Community College, earned third place in the NYSERDA Energy/Sustainability track and pitched a specialty plant and produce retail operation that will grow fresh, nutritious, chemical free, non-GMO plants and produce which will be available online for local pickup or delivery, utilizing a soil-based, indoor, subterranean, vertical growing system, as well as field and greenhouse crops, with a plan to offer bi-monthly community workshops to promote growing and eating non-GMO, organic produce and plants. Travelsee, a team comprised of students from SUNY Oneonta, earned an MWBE award after pitching their app that helps users find and share experiences at places such as museums by utilizing keywords, combined with their location which is enabled by GPS, to provide a social space for more relevant, real-time interaction. In addition to rounding out the top three teams to earn an MWBE award, SUNY Poly team Kid Sentry had been selected for the People’s Choice award at the final in the Nanotechnology/Advanced Technology track after sharing a business plan for a small, wearable device that can be placed on children’s clothing and communicates with a parent’s cell phone to alert them if their child has left a designated area; the technology also allows parents to monitor sun (UV) exposure, for example, to keep children both safe and comfortable in various outdoor settings, such as at a busy beach.

Due to the significant involvement and success of MWBE student-led teams from around New York State, SUNY Poly and SEFCU sought to recognize three MWBE teams that successfully took part in the 2016 New York Business Plan Competition. The three teams were selected for the MWBE Awards as a result of being MWBE-eligible, receiving high scores based on those generated by a panel of judges, and not placing first or second, since those teams had already received cash prizes of $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. In the final round of competition, 51 of the 82 teams participating—and 27 out of the 36 finalists—were women and minority teams eligible for MWBE status in New York, a designation that refers to a business with more than half of its ownership stake belonging to women or minorities.

SUNY Polytechnic Institute had also previously announced that it plans to assist each interested team with applying for an official New York State Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises designation. In addition, the New York Business Plan Competition plans to formally introduce MWBE awards beginning next year to maximize business opportunities for people from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.

[caption id="attachment_22659" align="alignright" width="360"] Travelsee, an MWBE student led team from SUNY Oneonta, is recognized at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany Monday with a 2016 New York Business Plan Competition MWBE award made possible by SEFCU. Pictured left to right are Dr. Pradeep Haldar, SUNY Poly; Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, SUNY Poly President and CEO; Ziquan Miao, Travelsee; and Michael Castellana, SEFCU President and CEO.[/caption]

Student-led teams that competed in the New York Business Plan Competition pitched business plans in a variety of categories related to the state’s 21^st Century economy, including nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and clean energy, among others. A panel of national venture capitalists, angel investors, and investment bankers selected the winning teams and offered invaluable feedback for each team that took part in the competition, which was once again presented by SUNY Poly, the University at Albany’s School of Business, and Syracuse University. Dual:Lock, led by student Timothy Oh from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and notably, an MWBE-eligible team, took the $100,000 Grand Prize for its biometric-based gun safe that allows both the ability to secure any handgun and for specific owner(s) to also gain instant access based on their fingerprints in order to protect their home and family.

Title Sponsor SEFCU provided significant support for the competition, including funding for the MWBE award in order to promote opportunities for people of all backgrounds. The New York Business Plan Competition also featured support from Energy/Sustainability Track Sponsor New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA); Networking Reception Sponsor First Niagara; Supporting Sponsor The Research Foundation for the State University of New York; Friend Sponsors Center for Economic Growth, Albany Medical Center, Anchor Agency, National Grid, New Energy New York, Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C., and Capital Bank; Supporting In-Kind Sponsors Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C., Troyweb consulting, Pinnacle, Schwartz Heslin Group, Inc., Capital District Transportation Authority, and Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt LLC; Friend-in-Kind-Sponsors M+W Group, Crossgates Mall, EYP, Montgomery Law Firm, NY Power Authority, Mazzone Hospitality, and Total Events; and SkipsoLabs.

[caption id="attachment_22660" align="alignleft" width="344"] Underground Greens, an MWBE student led team from Mohawk Valley Community College, is recognized at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany Monday with a 2016 New York Business Plan Competition MWBE award made possible by SEFCU. Pictured left to right are Pradeep Haldar, SUNY Poly; Christina Cambria, Underground Greens; Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, SUNY Poly President and CEO; and Michael Castellana, SEFCU President and CEO.[/caption]

Teams that competed in the final round of the New York Business Competition represented 64 colleges and universities from across New York State, including SUNY Polytechnic Institute (including teams from both its Albany and Utica sites), Ithaca College, Medgar Evers College (CUNY), Siena College, RPI, University at Buffalo, Canisius College, Daemen College, Clarkson University, SUNY Plattsburgh, Fulton Montgomery Community College, SUNY Oneonta, Cornell University, Morrisville State College, Mohawk Valley Community College, Stony Brook University, Hofstra University, NYIT, SUNY Geneseo, University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, Wells College, United States Military Academy at West Point, Culinary Institute of America, SUNY Orange, and Marist College.

For more information about the 2016 New York Business Plan Competition, please visit:

http://www.nybplan.com.

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SUNY Polytechnic Institute.SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is New York’s globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem, formed from the merger of the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and SUNY Institute of Technology. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany location and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica/Rome location. Thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world’s most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts more than $43 billion in high-tech investments, over 300 corporate partners, and maintains a statewide footprint. The 1.3 million-square-foot Albany NanoTech megaplex is home to more than 4,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, faculty, and staff, in addition to Tech Valley High School. SUNY Poly operates the Smart Cities Technology Innovation Center (SCiTI) at Kiernan Plaza in Albany, the Solar Energy Development Center in Halfmoon, the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST) in Troy, the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries in Syracuse, the Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center (STC) in Canandaigua, and the Photovoltaic Manufacturing and Technology Development Facility in Rochester where SUNY Poly also leads the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics. SUNY Poly founded and manages the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (Quad-C) at its Utica location and also manages the $500 million New York Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, with nodes in Albany and Rochester, as well as the Buffalo High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub at RiverBend, Buffalo Information Technologies Innovation and Commercialization Hub, and Buffalo Medical Innovation and Commercialization Hub. For information visit  www.sunycnse.com and  www.sunypoly.edu.