Tartan Tank Hopefuls Visit UCI Applied Innovation to Hone Entrepreneurial Skills

Students toured UCI Applied Innovation’s facilities, observed product pitches by a panel of entrepreneurs, and shared their product and asked questions to the panel.
The University of California, Irvine’s groundbreaking Applied Innovation lab welcomed 20 St. Margaret’s grade 8 students recently for a chance to learn more about entrepreneurship and work on their product pitches.

The students are all hoping to take part in next month’s Tartan Tank, an event created by grade 8 science teacher Eric Harrington that involves showcasing entrepreneurial-based science projects and pitching them to investors.

During the visit, students toured UCI Applied Innovation’s facilities including The Cove and EvoNexus, then observed product pitches by a panel of entrepreneurs with startups ranging from sustainable plastics solutions to innovative skateboards.

The trip wrapped up with the St. Margaret’s students sharing their product ideas to the panel, asking questions and receiving tips.

“It was an incredible experience,” Mr. Harrington said. “The panel gave our students a lot of helpful feedback on entrepreneurship and startups, ranging from overcoming failures to soliciting advice to persevering.”

UCI Applied Innovation’s outreach to St. Margaret’s and the Tartan Tank will continue--two teams that compete in Tartan Tank will be accepted to participate in UCI Applied Innovation’s Wayfinder Incubator, a highly selective program that provides support and access to resources and a network to help further develop ideas.

In addition, students are being assisted as they develop their ideas by St. Margaret’s alumni, led by Umar Bajwa ’05, through personal coaching, the arranging of guest speakers and other opportunities. Mr. Bajwa has also worked with Mr. Harrington on developing the Tartan Tank program.

The Tartan Tank will take place on April 25 in the Performing Arts Center.
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