Events
Explore our series of entrepreneurial events, featuring workshops and pitch competitions. Perfect for nurturing innovation and expanding networks within and beyond the academic environment.
April 2026
April 1, 11:30am - 12:30pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 1, 4pm - 5:30pm
International Entrepreneur Pathways Workshop
NJIT University, Leir Conference Room, 3rd Floor, Central Ave Building (184 Central Ave, Newark, NJ)
Presented by immigration lawyer and author of The Startup Visa: U.S. Immigration Visa Guide for Startups and Founders, Tahmina Watson. Joihn us for a hands-on workshop covering O-1 visas, EB-1A/EB-1B petitions and practical strategies for building an "extraordinary ability" profile as a student or early-career entrepreneur. Open to in-person and virtual attendees.
**Free registration.** Open to all NJIT students
April 2, 1pm - 2pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 2, 2:30pm - 4pm
Create. Pitch. Connect.
Central King Building: Agile Strategy Lab
Ready to turn your ideas into reality? Join the NJIT Student Senate for an exclusive panel on startup essentials and take the first step towards success. Panelists include Dr. Kathy Naasz, Research Professor & Executive Director of the CSE along with Santiago Garcia and Kermina David, NJIT Students and Founders of Verdura Automations . No registration required!
April 6, 1pm - 2pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 8, 11:30am - 12:30pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 8, 3pm - 5pm
Entrepreneurship Open Office Hours
Leir Data Observatory (2nd Floor of the Library)
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Open to all NJIT students.
April 9, 1pm - 2pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 11 - 12
2026 MakeNJIT Hardware Hackathon
NJIT Makerspace
The New Jersey Institute of Technology IEEE Student Branch is hosting our annual MakeNJIT Hardware Hackathon hosted on April 11th. This is one of the only hardware hackathons in the mid-Atlantic region, so we believe this would be a great opportunity for your students to participate in. This is a 24-hour, in-person hardware-focused hackathon where students come together to design, build, and prototype real physical systems from scratch. Whether you are into robotics, embedded systems, circuits, CAD, or just want to learn how hardware actually gets built, this is your chance to turn ideas into something tangible.
You will have access to 3-D printers, laser cutters, and woodworking machines. All electronic components, merchandise, parking, and food will be free!
Over one weekend, you will work in teams of 3-5 people, get access to tools, components, mentors, and workshops, and compete for prizes totaling $3,000+ while building something you can be proud of. No prior hackathon experience is required. If you are curious, motivated, and ready to learn by doing, you belong here!
DISCORD SERVER
REGISTRATION LINK
April 13, 1pm - 2pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 13, 6pm
Special Lecture on Tech Entrepreneurship featuring Judith Sheft, Executive Director NJCSIT
Location: Profeta Real Estate Center (1st floor Central Avenue Building)
Do YOU have an idea she might consider funding? Come and find out! Judith Sheft, Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology will explain how her organization incentivizes tech entrepreneurship in New Jersey. Many successful companies wouldn't be where they are without her.
No registration required, everyone is welcome to attend!
April 14
Propelus I-Corps -NJIT (Applications Open, Deadline: May 4)
Our four-session Propelus program helps researchers explore the customer perspective to inform how a discovery or innovation can become the basis of a successful startup or venture.
Through the program, we provide training and grants to support team-based customer research aimed at investigating the viability and societal impact of scientific and technological discoveries.
To apply to attend the Propelus program, researchers must form a team of at least two people involved with the scientific or technological discovery. The team must include:
- An Entrepreneurial Lead (often a postdoctoral researcher, graduate student or undergraduate) and
- A Technical Lead (usually a faculty member) Please note: Non-university teams are also eligible if they have a tech- enabled innovation.
- (Optional) Industry Mentor (someone from outside the university with close ties to industry or has successfully commercialized a similar technology)
Benefits
- Training: Four sessions introducing the Lean LaunchPad methodology, which focuses on customer discovery research to evaluate the potential of your idea to solve problems and provide value. View a sample course agenda.
- Funding: Stipends of up to $1,500 are provided to each selected team and can be used to fund expenses related to customer discovery research, including conferences and marketing tools.
- Resources: Selected teams will receive mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and innovators. Teams may also utilize many other programs offered by the Hub-affiliated institutions.
- Follow-on opportunities: Upon completion, academic teams are eligible for the national NSF I-Corps Teams program which provides an intensive 7-week training course and a $50,000 grant.
Session dates:
Mandatory Expectation Session: May 7, 3:00pm-6:00pm (Virtual)
May 21, 3:00pm-6:00pm (Virtual)
May 28, 3:00pm-6:00pm (Virtual)
June 4, 3:00pm-6:00pm (Virtual)
June 11, 3:00pm-6:00pm (Virtual)
Our four-session Propelus program helps researchers explore the customer perspective to inform how a discovery or innovation can become the basis of a successful startup or venture.
Location: Virtual
April 15, 11:30am - 12:30pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 15, 3pm - 5pm
Entrepreneurship Open Office Hours
Leir Data Observatory (2nd Floor of the Library)
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Open to all NJIT students.
April 16, 6pm - 9pm
CrowdTheory - Pitch Event
Equal Space ES550 Tech & Innovation Campus (550 Broad St, Newark, NJ 07102)
Got an idea? Test it in front of a real crowd. CrowdTheory is a live, interactive event where innovators pitch their ideas to a diverse room of entrepreneurs, tech professionals, and students — and get real time feedback on the spot. Think of it as a proving ground for your next big thing.
How it works: You present. The crowd votes, reacts, and gives you unfiltered feedback. You walk away with validation, new perspectives, and connections that actually matter.
Who's in the room: Software engineers, cybersecurity pros, startup founders, graduate students, college students, plus professionals from government, real estate, and beyond. This isn't just a tech crowd — it's a cross industry mix that stress tests your idea from every angle.
What to expect: → Live idea presentations → Real time audience voting and discussion → High impact networking → Food & drinks provided by Jollof Vibes
Whether you're pitching or just want to be part of the conversation, pull up. Ideas don't get better in isolation — they get better in front of a crowd.
Interested in presenting? Email admin@contextral.com with your idea!
April 16, 1pm - 2pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 20, 1pm - 2pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 22, 11:30am - 12:30pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 22, 3:30pm - 5:30pm
Pitch & Pizza
Leir Conference Room (3rd Floor of Central Avenue Building)
Have a startup idea? Take your pitch to the next level by presenting it to Entrepreneurship professors and receiving personalized, expert feedback. Enjoy some pizza while you pitch and compete for a chance to win up to $100 in prizes.
Spots are limited, open to all NJIT students.
April 23, 1pm - 2pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 24, 2:30pm - 3:50pm
From Classroom to Boardroom: An Entrepreneurship Panel Talk
Eberhardt Hall Room 112
Join us for an intimate panel conversation with three entrepreneurs who have built businesses from the ground up — navigating career pivots, client development, and personal brand building in the real world. This event is part of NJIT's Intro to Entrepreneurship (ENTR210) guest speaker series, bringing together founders and professionals to share unfiltered insights with the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Our panelists:
Kris Goelz — [Founder & President, OmniAction360]
Khurram Kalimi — [Co-Founder & COO, VinnCorp]
Amore Philip — [Founder & CEO, Apples & Oranges Public Relations]
Moderated by: Dr. Xi Zhang — [Senior Lecturer, MTSM, NJIT]
Seating is limited. Reserve your spot today
April 27, 1pm - 2pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 28, 4pm - 5:30pm
Propelus I-Corps Info Session
NJIT Martin Tuchman School of Management (Central Ave Building), Innovation Lab Room CAB 2020
Find out how you can propel your science or technology toward a startup or venture for societal benefit. Access mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and receive up to $1,500 for customer-discovery research.
Who Should Attend?
- Faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and/or undergraduates who are developing scientific or technical discovery at any institution in the Northeast
- Startups in the region with a deep-tech innovation
April 29, 11:30am - 12:30pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
April 29, 3pm - 5pm
Special Entrepreneurship open office hours: Dr. Jason Baynes
Leir Data Observatory (2nd Floor of the Library)
Dr. Jason Baynes, MD is a sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon and founder of Baynes Orthopaedics in New Jersey. He specializes in minimally invasive procedures and has served as a physician for high school, collegiate, and professional sports teams. With training from Princeton, Yale, Mount Sinai, and the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Baynes combines clinical expertise with an entrepreneurial perspective on building and innovating within the healthcare field. He is also a founding member of the NJIT Board of Trustees. No registration required, open to all NJIT students.
April 30, 1pm - 2pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
May 2026
May 1
UPitchNJ - Sponsored by Nokia Bell Labs
Rowan University
Support NJIT's Student Founder at the 2026 UPitch Competition on May 1st! Gabriele Muratori, founder of Stacks, will represent NJIT at UPitch hosted at Rowan University. Transportation for students will be provided on a first come first served basis (more details to come). Each year, UPitchNJ brings together top student founders from colleges and universities throughout New Jersey to pitch their business ideas and early stage ventures. The event highlights creativity, entrepreneurship, and bold thinking from students who are building solutions to real world problems.
Made possible by the support of Nokia Bell Labs, UPitchNJ provides a platform for student teams to present their ventures, receive feedback from experienced judges, connect with peers and mentors, and showcase the depth of entrepreneurial talent emerging from New Jersey’s higher education institutions.
Students compete by pitching in front of a live audience and judging panel. Teams will be evaluated on the clarity of the problem they are solving, the strength and feasibility of their solution, customer validation, their understanding of the competition and why their venture will succeed, the business model and market opportunity, team capability, and the overall quality of their pitch and Q&A.
In addition to pitch presentations, the event features team demo tables, networking opportunities, and awards recognizing standout ventures.
Each participating university selects an undergraduate student team to compete. Students interested in competing should contact their university’s entrepreneurship center or department for more information.
UPitchNJ is open to students, faculty, families, alumni, entrepreneurs, and community members who would like to attend and support student innovation as part of the audience.
May 4
Propelus I-Corps -NJIT (Applications Open, Deadline: May 4)
Our four-session Propelus program helps researchers explore the customer perspective to inform how a discovery or innovation can become the basis of a successful startup or venture.
Through the program, we provide training and grants to support team-based customer research aimed at investigating the viability and societal impact of scientific and technological discoveries.
To apply to attend the Propelus program, researchers must form a team of at least two people involved with the scientific or technological discovery. The team must include:
- An Entrepreneurial Lead (often a postdoctoral researcher, graduate student or undergraduate) and
- A Technical Lead (usually a faculty member) Please note: Non-university teams are also eligible if they have a tech- enabled innovation.
- (Optional) Industry Mentor (someone from outside the university with close ties to industry or has successfully commercialized a similar technology)
Benefits
- Training: Four sessions introducing the Lean LaunchPad methodology, which focuses on customer discovery research to evaluate the potential of your idea to solve problems and provide value. View a sample course agenda.
- Funding: Stipends of up to $1,500 are provided to each selected team and can be used to fund expenses related to customer discovery research, including conferences and marketing tools.
- Resources: Selected teams will receive mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and innovators. Teams may also utilize many other programs offered by the Hub-affiliated institutions.
- Follow-on opportunities: Upon completion, academic teams are eligible for the national NSF I-Corps Teams program which provides an intensive 7-week training course and a $50,000 grant.
Session dates:
Mandatory Expectation Session: May 7, 3:00pm-6:00pm (Virtual)
May 21, 3:00pm-6:00pm (Virtual)
May 28, 3:00pm-6:00pm (Virtual)
June 4, 3:00pm-6:00pm (Virtual)
June 11, 3:00pm-6:00pm (Virtual)
Our four-session Propelus program helps researchers explore the customer perspective to inform how a discovery or innovation can become the basis of a successful startup or venture.
Location: Virtual
May 4, 1pm - 2pm
Student Mentor Hour
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Looking for guidance on your startup idea or entrepreneurial journey? Drop in for a Student Mentor Hour at the Center for Student Entrepreneurship on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to connect one-on-one with our Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (Peer EIRs) who can help you refine your business concept, prepare for competitions, access software like Crunchbase or Scroobious and direct you to our ecosystem of resources. Open to all students—whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your venture to the next level. No appointment needed!
May 4, 5pm - 7pm
Mission 50 Pitch Competition
50 Harrison St #206, Hoboken, NJ 07030 (Seminar Room, Suite 213, Mission 50)
Students from Saint Peter’s University, Hudson County Community College, Stevens Institute of Technology, and NJIT will pitch their business ideas for a chance to win the $5,000 Grand Prize. Kushagra Verma, founder of Carbon Forge, will be representing NJIT in the competition.
May 6, 3pm - 5pm
Entrepreneurship Open Office Hours
Leir Data Observatory (2nd Floor of the Library)
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Open to all NJIT students.
May 8
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellowship (Application Deadline)
The Center for Student Entrepreneurship is excited to spread the word about a wonderful opportunity available only to NJIT students: the Paul V. Profeta Foundation Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellowship. This fellowship aims to support talented undergraduate students involved in entrepreneurship at NJIT. This prestigious fellowship is an $8,000 award: $3,000 in the form of a summer stipend and $5,000 in tuition support. Recipients are expected to participate in entrepreneurship-related programs organized by NJIT, particularly those offered by the Center for Student Entrepreneurship.
Eligibility: Undergraduate enrolled at NJIT for the fall 2026 and spring 2027 semesters. Preferably (not required) majoring or minoring in entrepreneurship at the Martin Tuchman School of Management.
May 13, 3pm - 5pm
Entrepreneurship Open Office Hours
Leir Data Observatory (2nd Floor of the Library)
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Open to all NJIT students.
May 27, 3pm - 5pm
Entrepreneurship Open Office Hours
Leir Data Observatory (2nd Floor of the Library)
Second floor of the Library in the Leir Data Observatory Room (drop in and innovate)
Open to all NJIT students.
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