September 26, 2016
Bradley Umpleby
Technology allows our society to access information the moment we hit enter on a keyboard. To match this sense of urgency, Ignite Colorado Springs hopes to teach visitors as quickly and effectively as possible.
Ignite, a rapid-fire presentation event, serves to educate around 250 guests with five minute, 20-slide presentations from eight to nine different presenters.
The El Pomar Institute for Innovation and Commercialization will host the third annual Ignite event Sept. 28, 5-8 p.m. in Berger Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
The presentation slides switch every 15 seconds, which pressures the presenters to get to the point as efficiently as possible, according to Tom Duening, El Pomar chair of Business and Entrepreneurship.
“The whole point is to enlighten us, but make it quick. We don’t want these long-winded speeches; we want speeches that prove their most sufficient points on their topic,” said Duening.
The event is a great opportunity for students to network with a variety of people, said Rhea Phaneuf, EPIIC Marketing and Events project manager.
“These presentations should be meaningful for everybody in the audience. Their goal is to make it fun, interesting and exciting,” said Phaneuf.
The theme of this year’s event is “Here Come the Millennials.” This is the first time in the last two years that the event has a theme. This year, EPIIC chose a topic that relates to a broad spectrum of people.
A wide range of topics will be discussed, including the tiny house anomaly, and how millennials manage their money in comparison to baby boomers. Speakers can choose any topic they want to present on, but the purpose is not to sell a product, said Duening.
“They have free range within their five minutes, but it is not a sales pitch; instead, they have to talk about the phenomenon, and how their topic is related to millennials,” said Duening.
Coaching sessions are available to presenters before the event, according to Duening. Everybody there will have an opportunity to present their brochures and business organizations to the public.
Ignite will be great for students to come out and meet people, and be able to connect with each business presenter.
“(Ignite) is a fun event. We usually do two of these events a year. We never seem too lax or have an inability to find good speakers. I’m hoping we could keep the energy going,” said Duening.
For more information about the event and to RSVP, visit epiic.uccs.edu/get-readyto-ignite-colorado-springs.