Are you interested in creating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship with your school community? A Shark Tank-style innovation fair is a great way to get students to work creatively, practice their business and presentation skills, and pitch their ideas to an audience, just like real entrepreneurs. This event will be based on the popular television show, Shark Tank, with the goal of developing collaboration, creativity, presentation, and a competitive culture amongst your students and staff. We have developed a large handbook on how to effectively run a successful and useful innovation fair at your school.
1. Identify the Purpose and Objectives
Before planning your innovation fair, be sure to articulate its purpose. Are you just looking at STEM innovations, social innovations, or any creative idea? Some of your priorities should include:
Encouraging student innovation and entrepreneurship
Encouraging collaboration and teamwork
Promoting the ability to present and public speak
Teaching students about business plans, prototypes and pitching ideas
By establishing purpose, this can help you with your planning decisions and how you describe the event with students, teachers, and parents.
2. Establish Organizing Committee
Adequate preparation ahead of time by a well-planned school event requires a team of people who are committed. Form your organizing committee made up of teachers, students, and maybe parent volunteers. You could establish a roles such as:
Event Coordinator
Marketing and Publicity Lead
Logistics Coordinator
Judge Liaison
Sponsorship Lead
Regularly scheduled meetings and good communication will create consistency.
3. Choose a Format
A Shark Tank-style innovation fair may take several different forms:
Live Pitch Competition (similar to “Shark Tank”): students or teams present their business idea before a panel of expert judges (the “sharks”) and a live audience!
Booth Exhibition: teams have booths to showcase their prototypes and business plans. Judges go around to every station to evaluate the teams
Hybrid Format: live pitches with a fair-style exhibition.
Choose the format that is best for your school’s resources and that most students will participate in.
4. Determine the Rules and Guidelines
Define the rules of the competition; such as:
Team Size: number of students in a team (usually 2-5 students in a team)
Am I invited?: which classes are invited to participate?
Submission Requirements: potential, business plan, prototype and presentation.
Time for Pitch: teams conduct a 3-5 minute pitch on their business idea with potential Q&A.
Judging: entries will be judged on creativity, originality, practicality, teamwork, presentation, and entrepreneurial opportunity.
No matter what format you pick, distribute the rules as soon as you can so that your students can have time to draft their business plan and prototype their product.
5. Enlist Judges and Mentors
Consider asking local business leaders, teachers, former residents of the area, or business owners to judge the presentations. Explain to the judges how the SHARK TANK approach is working here and what is being learned on the educational side. Don’t hesitate to have mentors work with student groups to shape their ideas, refine their pitches and even create some prototypes that they can present.
6.Publicize the Event
Promote the event through various forms of media to generate buzz:
School-wide Assemblies and Announcements
Location-based posters and flyers
Social media and School website
Parent newsletters
An engaging name and logo can brand your innovation fair and attract participants.
7. Support Student Teams
Consider supporting your student teams with the following resources:
Idea Generation Workshops: Students engage in brainstorming and related creative activities.
Business Plan Workshops: Explain market research, budgets and how to create a business plan.
Find a venue large enough for the teams, judges and audience.
Plan audiovisual requirements (microphones, projectors, etc
Pitch Coaching: Help students develop an engaging presentation.
Prototype Building: Provide materials or resources for students to utilize in the school’s makerspace.
Make sure you have encouraged team work and that each student has clearly defined roles for each step along the way, from research to presentation.
8. Organize the Event Logistics
It is time to plan, collaborate the details so it will happen:
Secure a venue large enough for the teams, judges and audience
Organize the audio-visual needs (microphones, projectors etc.)
Create the judging sheets and scoring rubrics
Arrange number of booths or presentation area for teams
Organize refreshments for participants and guests
Create a timeline which includes set up, pitches, judging and awards.
9. The Day: Run the Innovation Fair
On the day of the Shark Tank-type innovation fair:
Welcome the participants, judges and guests
Make sure teams are ready with their prototypes, entire business plans and pitch messages
Run the presentations while managing time (strictly)
Encourage audience engagement (even questions)
Encourage judges to give informative feedback (along with scoring each team)
Make it fun and educational for all.
10. Celebrate Success and Reflect
Host an awards ceremony. Recognize winners, but also the teams that have exemplified a high level of creativity, teamwork or perseverance. Awards can simply be certificates, trophies or further opportunity to develop ideas.
Collect feedback from students, judges and teachers so you can improve future innovation fairs. Honor all participants who have shown entrepreneurialism and hard work.
Best Practices for Engaging in a Shark Tank-style Innovation Fair
Inclusivity: Regardless of their background or experience, you want the mission of our Innovation Fair to be for all students to participate.
Real-World Work Connections: Ask local business representatives to donate prizes or internships.
Media Exposure: Share details about the event with the network of the school or a local press release the next-day or at least post stories and photos on the school website.
Sustainability: Make innovation fairs an annual event to promote a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation.
Fostering Lifelong Skills In And Beyond The Fair
Participating in a Shark Tank-style innovation fair not only cultivates a positive experience while attending the fair, there are long-lasting advantages of learning skills for a lifetime. By developing a business plan, creating a prototype, and pitching a concept to evaluators, students engage in a learning process that emphasizes resilience, adaptability and openness to critique. This learning cultivates a growth mindset so students can understand the importance of taking on challenges, learning from their failures and pursuing every avenue to improve. When students engage with teammates and have the opportunity to collaborate with a mentor, they are creating a network, building their confidence, which will empower them to transform creative ideas into real-life solutions. Ultimately, this establishes a solid framework to prepare them academically and professionally and to engage as proactive and innovative leaders in their community.
Conclusion
The style Shark Tank innovation fair you are planning is not simply a competition. It is also an occasion to celebrate creativity, collaboration, and audacity. If you heed the advice in this guide, you will develop an experience that students will remember, and inspire them to think big and dream boldly. You never know, the next big idea could come from your school! So gather your team, turn on those imaginations and get ready to make a splash with your own innovation fair. The sharks are ready to go!
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