Higher Education

The Encova Center hosts the annual Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition and supports other programming to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education throughout the state. The Encova Center also provides support to the Entrepreneurship Curriculum, student experiential projects, and student organizations at WVU.

West Virginia Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition

The West Virginia Business Plan Competition affords college students around the state the unique opportunity to make a business idea come to life with the support of state institutions of higher education and seasoned business professionals from around the country.

Business Plan WV

Impact Challenge

The WVU Impact Challenge is an immersive weekend experience that gives students the opportunity to work in teams to define solutions for West Virginia’s most pressing challenges. Students learn how to create profitable, scalable business models to solve important problems, and pitch their ideas to judges to compete for prize money. One credit is awarded to participants who complete necessary coursework.

Impact Challenge Weekend

LaunchLab

The LaunchLab is a portal for students, offering guidance and assistance with opportunities through pitch competitions, grant applications, workshops and more.

LaunchLab

Entrepreneurship Curriculum

The Encova Center provides support for the Entrepreneurship and Innovation degree program as well as the Entrepreneurial Studies minor at WVU.

Entrepreneurship Curriculum

Experiential Learning

The Encova Center facilitates mutually beneficial partnerships between WVU students in various undergraduate and graduate programs and West Virginia businesses through Strategic Business Consulting. These projects provide high-level strategic planning to West Virginia businesses, non-profit organizations, and government organizations through student experiential learning projects. Students have the unique opportunity to apply their academic knowledge, sharpen their professional skills, and create real value in their community by engaging in these projects.

Experiential Learning

Impact Challenge Resource Package

Working in multidisciplinary teams, students consider Appalachia's greatest challenges and crate scalable, innovative pathways to help move WV Forward. This program was designed to be implemented into any school or classroom.

Student Organizations

Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO Club)

The CEO Club is a national organization to encourage college students to seek out entrepreneurial opportunities. WVU’s chapter meets regularly to explore entrepreneurial ventures, as well as host guest speakers from the business world.

Find on CEO Club on WVUEngage

Healthy Hippies

The Healthy Hippies exist to create an environment for students to practice living in the moment, inspire people to engage in an active lifestyle, and to help the community by coordinating local service projects.

Find on Healthy Hippies on WVUEngage