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PRINCETON, N.J., Oct.25, 2016 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Future technology, entrepreneurship, and social impact will converge at Envision Entrepreneurship, a pitch competition hosted at Princeton University on December 2nd, 2016. The event will take place during the Envision conference at Princeton University, and will center on innovative applications of technology that solve real-world problems.

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"Envision Entrepreneurship represents our belief that technological ingenuity can brighten our future, or as President Obama recently put it, that we can 'science the heck out of just about any problem,'" said Luca Rade, president of the Envision organization at Princeton University. "We're excited to field innovative projects that embody 'deep entrepreneurship,' a focus on the long-term and the large-scale. The best ideas will move society forward while taking into account any associated risks."

Proposed pitches must be submitted by October 28th, 2016. Of all applicants, five finalists will be selected to present during the Envision conference in front of a panel of industry experts. The top three projects will be awarded $2000, $1000, and $500 respectively. Before the conference, each of the five finalist teams will receive advice and mentorship from advisors with related experience.

"Our judges and advisors are the best part of Envision Entrepreneurship," said Adam Chang, co-organizer of Envision Entrepreneurship. "Their backgrounds are inspirational yet very diverse, so we believe they'll offer invaluable feedback for our participants." The competition's judges, Chang noted, include Julia Bossmann, president of the Foresight Institute and council member of the World Economic Forum, and Alden Richards, a lecturer in entrepreneurship and the development of the space industry at Yale and Brown universities.

All types of proposals—including start-ups, government policies, and corporate projects—will be accepted. Pitches will be judged on four criteria: current and long-term impact, feasibility, downside mitigation, and technology integration. Technologies that can be integrated include virtual/augmented reality, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), genetic engineering or other biotechnology, nuclear fusion, and space exploration.

"Envision Entrepreneurship may best be summed up in three words by its slogan—'make it so,'" said Peter Bruce-Clark, co-founder of Permutation Ventures, a venture capital (VC) firm specializing in artificial intelligence and machine learning. "This is a truly unique pitch competition that brings together technology and entrepreneurship to create sustainable, societal-scale impact."

ABOUT ENVISION

Envision is a student-run, not-for-profit organization affiliated with Princeton University. Envision inspires students to pioneer a brighter future through the prudent advancement of rapidly developing disruptive technologies. Opportunities offered by the organization include the Envision conference, talks by renowned guest speakers, discussions, and fully-funded trips to conferences and companies centered on future technology and social impact. For more information, visit http://www.envisionfuture.org.

ABOUT THE ENVISION CONFERENCE

The Envision conference is a three-day conference centered on applications of future technology involving panels, expos, and workshops. Speakers this year include Ruth Chadwick, chair of the Human Genome Organization Ethics Committee; Andres Sandberg, fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University; and Gregory Stock, director of the UCLA Program on Medicine, Technology, and Society.

The conference will be attended by 150 undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals selected from a pool of over 500 applicants. Participants represent 39 different universities and eight countries, including India, Poland, and the Netherlands. Advisors to the conference include Sam Altman, president of Y Combinator; Peter Bruce-Clark, founder of Permutation Ventures; and Shirley Tilghman, a board member of Google and previous president of Princeton University. Additional details can be found at http://envision-conference.com.

Media Contact: Adam Chang, Envision/Princeton University, 973-937-8555, adam.chang@princeton.edu

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SOURCE Envision