Past Competitions

2011 Milken-PennGSE Education Business Plan Competition

The second annual Milken-PennGSE Education Business Plan Competition was held on June 9th, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Nine finalist teams presented to a panel of judges, and to seasoned educational entrepreneurs, reporters and the general public.

First prize

Alexandre Scialom won $25,000 for his company, thecoursebook, which connects lifelong learners to great online and offline learning resources. The service allows users to easily search for and find thirdparty learning resources and offers guidance to support their professional and personal development, based on interests, peers, and location. In addition to taking first place in the Milken-PennGSE competition, Scialom also won $25,000 for the Startl Prize for Open Educational Resources.

The second place Milken-PennGSE prize of $15,000 was awarded to Judd Rattner and Edward Levie for their company, Intellidemia. Intellidemia provides an online syllabus solution that organizes, shares and analyzes course information.

2010 Milken-PennGSE Education Business Plan Competition

The first ever Milken-PennGSE Education Business Plan Competition was held on June 3rd, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Six finalist teams presented their ideas to the judging panel.

First Prize

Shaun Sims, 23, and Andrew Mills, 28, won first prize, $25,000, for Digital Proctor, which improves security in online education. Digital Proctor analyzes student behavior in online classrooms, identifies suspicious activity through keyboard usage and algorithms, detects financial-aid fraud, and helps to increase student-retention rates.

Second prize of $15,000 was awarded to Jen Schnidman, 26, of New Orleans for Drop the Chalk, a web-based software that allows educators to track and quantify students’ academic growth by providing an overall picture of what students already know and what they still need to learn.

The Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition aims to stimulate entrepreneurship in education and connect social entrepreneurs to venture capitalists and other funders interested in improving education.