Berig, F., & Kulturel-Konak, S., & Konak, A. (2024, April), Decoding Challenges in Organizing Innovation Competitions and Programs: A Thematic Analysis of Interviews with Organizers  Paper presented at ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Spring Conference, George Washington University, District of Columbia. 10.18260/1-2--45710

\bibitem{asee_peer_45710}
  Berig, F., \& Kulturel-Konak, S., \& Konak, A. (2024, April), \emph{Decoding Challenges in Organizing Innovation Competitions and Programs: A Thematic Analysis of Interviews with Organizers}
  Paper presented at ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Spring Conference, George Washington University, District of Columbia.
  10.18260/1-2--45710

Fay Berig, Sadan Kulturel-Konak, and Abdullah Konak.  "Decoding Challenges in Organizing Innovation Competitions and Programs: A Thematic Analysis of Interviews with Organizers".  ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Spring Conference, George Washington University, District of Columbia, 2024, April.  ASEE Conferences, 2024.  https://peer.asee.org/45710 Internet.  24 Apr, 2025

\bibitem{asee_peer_45710}
  Fay Berig, Sadan Kulturel-Konak, and Abdullah Konak.
  "Decoding Challenges in Organizing Innovation Competitions and Programs: A Thematic Analysis of Interviews with Organizers".
  \emph{ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Spring Conference, George Washington University, District of Columbia, 2024, April}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2024.
  https://peer.asee.org/45710 Internet.  24 Apr, 2025

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_45710
author = "Fay Berig, Sadan Kulturel-Konak, and Abdullah Konak"
title = "Decoding Challenges in Organizing Innovation Competitions and Programs: A Thematic Analysis of Interviews with Organizers"
booktitle = "ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Spring Conference"
year = "2024"
month = "April"
address = "George Washington University, District of Columbia"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/45710}
number = {10.18260/1-2--45710}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Educational programs like innovation competitions and programs (ICPs) play a pivotal role in entrepreneurial development among student participants. Students with a focus on fields in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) tend to benefit from participation in ICPs. Higher education institutions and foundations have broadened their co-curricular offerings to attract and support student innovators. These include design challenges, hackathons, start-up incubator competitions, boot camps, customer discovery labs, and accelerator programs. Hence, student ICPs are increasingly instrumental in shaping the education of the next generation of innovators and critical thinkers. Furthermore, organizers have a crucial role in ensuring the success and feasibility of innovation and pitch competitions. The successful implementation of such programs often entails myriad challenges and setbacks that organizers must overcome to benefit their participants. This paper aims to explore the different challenges organizers face while running student ICPs, typically non-credit, co-curricular, and team-based initiatives where student teams collaborate to address open-ended problems. The literature review and analysis of organizer interviews will explore current trends, similarities in challenges and setbacks, and provide a concise overview of best practices that organizers can adopt to ensure the success of innovation competitions and programs. The primary focus is on understanding the challenges organizers face during the establishment and execution of their ICPs. 
AU  - Fay Berig
AU  - Sadan Kulturel-Konak
AU  - Abdullah Konak
CY  - George Washington University, District of Columbia
DA  - 2024/04/19
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Decoding Challenges in Organizing Innovation Competitions and Programs: A Thematic Analysis of Interviews with Organizers
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/45710
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--45710
ER  -