The campus field guide
University of Southern Maine
Run this campus program? Claim school
Inside this ecosystem · 2 linked sources
The University of Southern Maine supports entrepreneurship from the School of Business Center for Entrepreneurship, founded in 1996, and from a new campus innovation challenge. The March 2026 What About This? challenge asked student teams to pitch blue-economy ideas. The winning prize documented on the university news page is a trip to Iceland Innovation Week, not a cash seed award.
This listing was compiled from public university pages on October 8, 2026. It is unclaimed and has not been confirmed by the school or a program director.
Include. USM is the public regional university in Maine's largest metro and has a named entrepreneurship center plus a documented 2026 student pitch challenge. meaningful coursework and a first challenge, without a documented seed fund or incubator building for student ventures.
How we know this: the figures on this page come from the linked sources (last verified 2026-10-08); what those sources do not state is left unknown.
At a glance
Indexed programs
2
All currently active
Top direct funding
No direct cash prizes indexed
Equity
Equity terms unknown
Program mix
2
Entrepreneurship Center · Pitch Competition
Programs to explore
Compare funding, equity, and timing before you apply.
2 programs indexed
Pitch Competition
What About This? Innovation Challenge
Pitch Competition—
funding range
- Last activity
- 2026-03-09
- Participants
- Undergraduate Students
- Verification
- Unverified
Entrepreneurship Center
Center for Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship CenterAlso: USM Center for Entrepreneurship
—
funding range
- Last activity
- —
- Participants
- Undergraduate Students, Faculty +more
- Verification
- Unverified
From students
Be the first student from University of Southern Maine to post a startup.
Post a startupFunding and Equity
The captured center page does not list a venture fund or cash prize. The 2026 challenge prize is travel to Iceland Innovation Week. Equity terms are not stated.
Recent Activity
The centers page was live on October 8, 2026. USM published the challenge results on March 9, 2026, covering a March 5 kickoff.
Known Startups and Winners
Team Oceancycle, four USM undergraduates, won the first challenge with a concept to turn discarded fishing gear into prosthetics. The story does not say the team had formed a company.
Research gaps & things to verify
Missing Information
Whether the challenge will run again, any cash awards, and a current roster of student companies using the center.
More about this ecosystem
University of Southern Maine
News & articles
2 news articles and official sources documenting entrepreneurship programs, winners, and activity at University of Southern Maine.
2 sources
News & articles(1)
USM What About This? Innovation Challenge
University of Southern Maine
University of Southern Maine
USM What About This? Innovation Challenge
USM news story on the first What About This? student innovation challenge.
Read on University of Southern Maine
University of Southern Maine has a public page built from sources. If a detail is wrong, students still see it.
Claiming and editing stay free.