A competition has students at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point collaborating with the Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to help find funding solutions for local tourism efforts.
The inaugural Case in Point Business Solutions Competition has four teams, made up by 19 students, working on a specific challenge from the local bureau: “How might our organization increase revenue from our partnership program, thereby diversifying our income stream?”
Students met their teammates, coaches, judges and the client to hear about its problem at a kick-off meeting on March 6. After a month of research, the teams will pitch their solutions to judges and prize money will be awarded for the best presentations during the Case in Point finals on Wednesday, April 10, at 5:30-8 p.m. in the Dreyfus University Center Alumni Room.
Campus and community members are invited to learn more about the competition and register to attend the finals at www.uwsp.edu/caseinpoint.
The Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors Bureau represents and promotes all of Portage County, creating a positive economic impact and enhancing the area’s quality of life. Tourism contributed approximately $245.9 million to the local Stevens Point economy in 2022. By joining the SPACVB’s Partners in Tourism program, local businesses can be included in the Visitors Guide and other print and digital promotions. Partnership fees currently contribute 9% of the SPACVB’s annual income.
“The enthusiasm and creativity these student teams are bringing to the table is impressive,” said Sara Brish, executive director of the Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Diversifying our income stream is a key priority and I am excited to consider the students’ fresh perspectives on how we can achieve that goal.”
The students have analyzed this challenge using Design Thinking, an innovative approach that emphasizes understanding the user’s or customer’s priorities and needs through interviews and observations. By participating in Case in Point, the students have gained valuable experience while helping to improve the community. At the same time, participants have built key skills associated with an entrepreneurial mindset: creativity, problem-solving and teamwork.
“We challenge every student to think like an entrepreneur,” said Kevin Neuman, head of Sentry School of Business and Economics at UW-Stevens Point. “From small companies to large, from nonprofits to government, the world needs leaders who know how to think like entrepreneurs.”
Each team has a coach to guide them through the problem-solving process. Judges include local professionals from Sentry School Corporate Partners organizations including Aspirus, Sentry, Skyward and Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I.
Case in Point is a part of the Think Like an Entrepreneur programming in the month of April from the Sentry School of Business and Economics. Students can learn from entrepreneurs at events on campus and in the community, build creative-thinking and problem-solving skills in competitions as well as participate in activities hosted by the UWSP Student Entrepreneurship Club. Think Like an Entrepreneur is supported by a generous gift from alumni Mark ’85 and Julie Smiley ’87.