Do you need to start saving up for your ‘million dollar idea’? Well, allow DePaul University to help. First prize at the Center for Creativity and Innovation’s “Student Innovation Awards” is $500. The winner at the College of Commerce’s inaugural event went to graduate student, Sara Baris.Baris, 26, of Baltimore, is a second year in the College of Law. She won the judges votes with her idea of an economically responsible tourism industry she has named “The Orange Dove.”

“The idea of ‘The Orange Dove’ is to capture the money that people spend to visit developing countries and give the profit to the community, not just the tourism industry,” said Baris.

Creating business models and changing industries with innovative ideas, like “The Orange Dove,” is just what was asked of students competing in the competition. Promotions for the event began during late fall quarter.

Undergraduate and graduate students, of any college, were asked to nominate their innovative inventions or improvements of products, services, processes or technology by Feb. 4. An independent panel of judges then selected from the pool of applicants, just three finalists to compete on Feb. 25 at the DePaul Center.

On that day, the finalists were given 30 minutes to convince the judges of their ideas. Each judge was then allowed to ask a question and offer their constructive criticism to the competitor. Lisa Gundry, Professor of Management and Director of the Center for Creativity and Innovation, presided over the awards presentation.

“We wanted to teach students skills related to innovation and management by allowing positive feedback from the judges,” said Gundry. “We wanted to have a competition that would celebrate what the students are doing. Some of the ideas that were presented today, are really helping to change the way things are done in certain industries and other challenges in the world.”

Like those ideas of third place award winner, senior, Kevin Kurgansky. Or second place recipient, Thomas Derrick, a student in the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. Derrick, 30, pitched his idea, “Cooperative Healthcare,” to the judges which earned him an award of $250.

“We have not entered a market, we’ve created one,” said Derrick, during his presentation which earned him rave reviews from the judges like, “sexy presentation” and “very charismatic.” The judges, College of Commerce Advisory Board members and other business professionals with ties to DePaul, were just as inspired by the student’s presentations as they were excited share them.

Judge Carol Oman works at Kraft Foods and is an advisory board member.

“It was very inspiring and satisfying to be able to read the submissions and to think about them both in a business sense and a creative sense,” said Oman. “I really admired the students for their innovation and their passion.”

“I think it was a great experience to see that today’s youth is interested in what’s going on, they want to contribute,” said judge and advisory board member, Dallas Tomlin. “It says a lot that, they’re willing to take their time away from their schoolwork and friends to do something with these ideas and hopefully implement them.”

Implementing her idea is exactly what Baris is hoping to do after completing her law degree.

“My idea is not something that’s easy to implement and it will take a lot of money,” said Baris. “But hopefully I will be able to get it out there, gain some investors and that’s the main thing that I will be focusing on. I am still so surprised and humbled by this.”

With students presenting such projects, Gundry expects great things to come from this new competition.

“I hope that they get the courage to continue, to take their ideas and put them into action,” said Gundry. “That they feel that their ideas are going to make a difference to individuals and communities that they wish to serve.