Despite students having to learn remotely this fall, The Institute for Dispute Resolution (IDR) at The New Jersey City University (NJCU) held a competition in which student teams were tasked to offer innovative visionary ideas beneficial to the future of Jersey City’s local community and business ecosystem.
IDR asked their student teams to embrace the constraints imposed upon them by COVID-19 by adapting and persevering to present their best proposals for the case studies given them. The case studies align with IDR’s mission to serve as a platform for promoting sustained economic and commercial success through entrepreneurship and innovation.
Professor David Weiss Esq., the Founder and Director of IDR and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation NJCU-Jersey City Connect Project, explains the value of the competition’s exercise, stating, “The IDR at NJCU connects innovation and entrepreneurship for Jersey City both in the classroom and through mentorships by maximizing transfer of knowledge and leveraging a diverse pool of talent for idea creation. Our goal is to inspire a new generation to think the impossible.”
Forty-seven students in two courses formed teams and unlike prior competitions their collaborations took place virtually. They were encouraged to apply the concepts of Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) they learned in the fall semester to both the future of Jersey City and their personal lives.
The students come from varied backgrounds: local and foreign, some first-generation college, and a portion who have had close exposure to the impact of COVID-19. Those dealing with COVID-19 and the other students dealt with the stress and constraints of collaborating via phone, text, teleconferencing while sometimes in different time zones.
Attending guest Judith Sheft, Executive Director of the NJ Commission on Science and Technology, saw the value of the experience the students gained in the pitch competition.
“I was impressed with the quality of each team’s presentation and the valuable advice they were able to provide to the businesses. It is inspiring to know that young people such as those in the IDR program are going to help lead the way for NJ to recover from the health, economic and social challenges we have faced over the last 10 months,” she said.
The student teams tackled two projects. One titled “MYOB: Mind Your Own Business’ sought an innovative approach for the launching of an arts-based community wine bar concept called Lulu’s Daughter Wine Bar. The real world assignment came from the founder of Lulu’s Daughter Wine Bar Joyce Tanksley-Pizzo who is a local resident and NJCU Business School alum.
The other assignment titled “Global Business,” likewise asked for an innovative proposal but for a hypothetical expansion of the New York-based nonprofit organization STEM From Dance to Jersey City. The organization is a nonprofit founded by scientist and lifelong dancer Yamilée Toussaint Beach. It promotes dance as a way to develop the engineering and technology skills in young women of color, helping to create a new generation of minority women leaders.
The winning team for “MYOB: Mind Your Own Business”: Lulu’s Daughter Wine Bar was Know Your Brilliant Marketing Group and comprised of students: Jenifer Ngo and Brianna Or with mentor Sue Perez as Video Coach from Dynamic Video Coach. The winning team for “Global Business”: STEM From Dance was The A-Team and comprised of students Seifen Aziz, Graciela Aramayo, and Glorimer Abreu Jerez with mentor Amber Leach, Financial Consultant at R.I.C.H. Planning Group
The victorious teams will receive stipends to work on their projects during the spring 2021 semester within the IDR. They will also receive mentoring from business leaders and executives connected to IDR.
Donna Bernard, a member of IDR in the NJCU Entrepreneurship and Innovation Steering Committee and founder of Donna Bernard Ventures, is one of the participating mentors who sees mentoring as a critical element for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators to succeed, particularly during COVID-19.
“There are five generations in the workforce, five decades of knowledge. How do we navigate this highway? Mentorship is more than a one-directional transfer of knowledge for the next generation, but is inspiration for us all, leading the path and finding a way to emerge from this pandemic stronger and more adept for the future.”
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