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What You Need to Know

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Faculty Partner Guide

Thank you for your interest in ScarletPitch 2026, Rutgers’ university-wide innovation and pitch competition, powered by the Innovation, Design & Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA).  This brief guide is designed to make it fast and easy for you to share ScarletPitch with your students and, if you’d like, to connect it to your course projects and learning outcomes.

  • ScarletPitch is Rutgers’ largest university-wide ideation stage innovation and pitch competition, hosted by IDEA. Open to both Rutgers New Brunswick undergraduate and graduate students, teams identify real-world problems, design innovative solutions, and pitch early-stage ventures to judges, mentors, and industry partners.  BONUS!  By applying to Scarlet Pitch, eligible students are able to use the same Scarlet Pitch application to apply for UPitchNJ and the Hult Prize competitions.

  • Key student benefits:

    • Apply class concepts in a real-world context
    • Practice customer discovery, prototyping, and pitching
    • Engage with other student innovators and the Rutgers Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
    • Connect with professionals, mentors and innovators
    • Compete for $5,000 in cash prizes
    • Qualify for expense-paid travel opportunities for advancing teams
    • Priority Application Deadline: December 22, 2025
      • (BONUS! Teams that apply early receive $10 Amazon gift cards, feedback on their application and the ability to edit their submission)
    • Final Application Deadline: January 30, 2026
    • Finalists Notified: February 9, 2026
    • Scarlet Pitch Competition: February 27, 2026 at Trayes Hall on Douglas Campus
      • Competition:  6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
      • Networking event for applicants, judges and industry mentors: 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

  • As a way to support your entrepreneurship and innovation teaching we offer scaffolded workshops your student can participate in our IDEA Launch Labs workshops.  This is a series of 60 minute innovation, customer discovery, and pitch training workshops designed to help novice and early stage innovators turn rough ideas into clear value propositions and confident, competition-ready pitches.  For more information go to IDEA Launch Lab Workshops

How to get started with ScarletPitch

Start by choosing the level of engagement that best fits your course and your learning objectives based on the options listed below.  Each option lists what you need to do and provides you with the media and content you need to add Scarlet Pitch information to your class.  

    1. Post a Canvas Announcement using the text we provide
    2. Show the one-slide overview once in class
    3. Mention the application deadlines
    4. Publish the IDEA Launch Labs calendar
    5. Invite Scarlet Pitch staff or student volunteers to be a guest speaker in your class

    Option A media and content:

    • Canvas Announcement – Short Version
    • Scarlet Pitch 2026 – One-Slide Overview
    • IDEA Launch Labs calendar
    1. Post the Canvas Announcement and/or Canvas Page (Long Version)
    2. Print / post the flyer
    3. Remind students of the IDEA Launch Labs workshop dates
    4. Add a short blurb to your syllabus under ‘Experiential Opportunities’ or ‘Extra Credit’
    5. Use the one-slide deck to introduce Scarlet Pitch in class (60–90 seconds)
    6. Encourage teams working on relevant projects to consider applying
    7. Invite Scarlet Pitch staff or student volunteers to be a guest speaker in your class

    Option B media and content:

    • Either ‘Canvas Announcement’ or ‘Canvas Page Formatted’
    • Either ‘Syllabus Blurb – Short Version’ or ‘Syllabus Blurb – Long Version’
    • One-Slide Overview
    • Flyer/QR code
    • Launch Lab Workshop schedule
    1. Embed Scarlet Pitch as an option for your team projects and capstone assignments by positioning the competition as a practical, skills-building experience that will strengthen students’ innovation, customer discovery, and pitch development capabilities. Offer reflection activities related to the competition experience as part of their grade.
    2. Post the Canvas Announcement and/or Canvas Page (Long Version)
    3. Print / post the flyer and distribute to your students
    4. Use the one-slide deck to introduce Scarlet Pitch in class (60–90 seconds)
    5. Remind students of the IDEA Launch Labs workshop dates
    6. Invite Scarlet Pitch staff or student volunteers to be a guest speaker in your class  

    Option C media and content: 

    • Canvas Announcement and/or Canvas Page (Long Version)
    • One-slide deck to introduce ScarletPitch in class (60–90 seconds)
    • IDEA Launch Lab Workshop Schedule (Folder 5)
    • Canvas Assignment Template
    • Syllabus Blurb - Long Version’
    • Flyers / QR code

Suggested Ways to Align With Your Course

ScarletPitch is intentionally designed to support and extend the work students do in innovation, design, and entrepreneurship courses.
 It strengthens key workforce-readiness skills—problem framing, customer discovery, teamwork, communication, and designing solutions with real-world impact—while connecting students to the broader Rutgers and New Jersey entrepreneurship ecosystem.

You may find especially strong alignment if your course includes:

  • Team-based venture, startup, innovation, or social innovation projects
  • Customer discovery, stakeholder research, or user-centered inquiry
  • Business model, value proposition, or feasibility analysis assignments
  • Pitch presentations, demo days, or communication-focused deliverables
  • Community-based problem solving or applied research activities
  • Experiential learning, real-world impact projects, or workforce-readiness skill development
  • Opportunities for students to explore entrepreneurial pathways beyond the classroom

Examples of ways to embed Scarlet Pitch:

  • Encourage teams to view Scarlet Pitch as a professional skill-building experience where they can strengthen communication, problem framing, decision-making, and collaboration—competencies that directly support internships, early career roles, and meaningful community impact.
  • Ask students to complete a brief reflection that connects their Scarlet Pitch experience to course learning goals (e.g., opportunity recognition, customer discovery, prototyping, teamwork) and to their readiness to contribute in professional, civic, or entrepreneurial settings. This reflection helps students translate their experience into applicable skills and insights.
  • Highlight Scarlet Pitch as a next-step pathway for teams who want to continue their work—whether through Rutgers opportunities (IDEA programs, I-Corps, and other campus innovation initiatives) or through external pathways such as Hult Prize, UPitchNJ, and the wider New Jersey entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Faculty Media Kit

In the following media kit, you will find: copy-and-paste text for Canvas Announcements and pages, a one-slide overview you can add to your own presentation, flyers and images you can print, post, or share, and, language for your syllabus or assignments.

Your ScarletPitch 2026 – Faculty Media Kit is organized into simple subfolders.

  • Folder: ScarletPitch 2026 – Faculty Partner Guide (Start Here)

    Use this as your orientation and to quickly find information:

    • Overview of ScarletPitch
    • Key dates and benefits
    • Quick pathways to use the kit (Options A, B, C)
    • Pointers to relevant files and suggested use cases
       

  • Folder: 1 - Canvas & Syllabus Content

    Contains ready-to-copy text files:

    1. Canvas Announcement
      • For a quick Announcement or Inbox message
      • Student-facing, ~1–2 paragraphs
      • Use for: “Post once, students see it and click the link”
    2. Canvas Page Formatted
      • More detailed description of ScarletPitch
      • Explains what it is, why it matters, who can participate, and key dates
      • Use for creating a dedicated Canvas Page you can include in your Canvas  Modules
    3. Syllabus Blurb – Short (40–60 words)
      • A concise paragraph for your syllabus under ‘Experiential Opportunities’ or ‘Extra Credit’ (if offered)
      • Use to easily include Scarlet Pitch information with minimal syllabus changes
    4. Syllabus Blurb – Longer (80–100 words)
      • A more descriptive version for courses that emphasizes experiential learning, developing workforce ready skills and a deeper understanding of what it means to be an innovator.
      • Use in assignment description for courses with capstone, project-based or experiential components
    5. Canvas Assignment Template (Optional - ScarletPitch Project)
      • Language you can paste into your capstone and project based  / experiential learning assignments to position ScarletPitch as an optional extension to your existing assignment. 

    Use with courses where teams are already developing venture, innovation, or design projects
     

  • Folder: 2 - Slides & Presentations

    Contains:

    • Scarlet Pitch 2026 – One-Slide Overview (Google Slides)
      • A single, branded slide explaining:
        1. what ScarletPitch is
        2. why / how to participate
        3. key dates
      • Includes a QR code
    • Scarlet Pitch 2026 – One-Slide Overview (PPTX Export)
      PowerPoint version for faculty who prefer local files 

    Use this slide to:

    • Introduce ScarletPitch in class in 60–90 seconds
    • Drop into an existing lecture on innovation, entrepreneurship, or project work
    • Provide a visual reference when you read a brief announcement aloud 

  • Folder: 3 - Flyers & Graphics

    Contains: 

    • ScarletPitch 2026 – Flyer (PDF)
    • ScarletPitch 2026 – Flyer (PNG)
    • ScarletPitch 2026 – QR Code(PNG)linked to the student application form (including ‘Preview of the Application’)

    Use these media assets to: 

    • Upload the PDF flyer to Canvas as a file or embed it in a Canvas Page
    • Print the flyer and post it in a classroom, lab, or department space
    • Drop the PNG flyer or QR code into your own slides or course materials

    Add the QR code to your own assignment briefs or project descriptions

  • Folder: 4 - Logos & Brand Assets

    Contains:

    • IDEA logo (PNG)
    • Scarlet Pitch logo (PNG)
    • Rutgers-approved logos (as appropriate)
    • Permissible-use note for instructors who wish to customize these slides or incorporate them into their own course-branded materials. (For use in materials promoting Scarlet Pitch 2026 only.)

    Use these media assets to

    • Ensure consistent, Rutgers-approved branding
    • Save time with ready-to-use logos and elements
    • Customize slides or course materials with clear guidelines for appropriate use

  • Folder: 5- IDEA Launch Labs Workshop Schedule

    Contains:

    Descriptions of hands-on workshops that teach the essentials of problem discovery, prototyping, funding, pitching, and feedback including: 

    1. Hack the Problem: Human centered problem solving and challenge framing
    2. Ask–Listen–Learn: Understand users and define the problem
    3. Build It –Break It –Fix It: Prototype, test, and improve your design
    4. Money Moves: Learn funding options and financial basics
    5. Tell It –Sell It: Storytelling and narrative skills to develop and deliver your pitch
    6. Feedback Fest 1: Get critique to strengthen your idea
    7. Application Jam: Guidance in submitting your application
    8. Pitch Craft: Story and pitch deck clinic for finalists
    9. Feedback Fest 2: Finalist dress rehearsal  

    Use this media asset to

    • Align course topics with relevant workshops (e.g., problem framing, discovery, prototyping, pitching).
    • Direct students or teams to labs that match their stage or skill gaps.
    • Encourage participation for professional development and stronger ScarletPitch submissions.
    • Integrate workshop outputs (insights, prototypes, pitch drafts) into class assignments.
    • Share dates early so students can plan and avoid conflicts with major course activities.