Justin Gluska ’23 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), LaunchPad digital innovation team specialist, LaunchPad webmaster and Posse Scholar, has just published his first book, “The ChatGPT Promptbook.” He will be giving an author’s talk about researching, creating, and promoting engaging content with ChatGPT on Wednesday, February 8 at noon at the LaunchPad in Bird Library.

The Blackstone LaunchPad has just acquired the book as part of its innovation and entrepreneurship collection at Bird Library. It can also be purchased on-line here.

“ChatGPT revolutionary technology is here to help people across the globe streamline their workflows, improve productivity, and generate new opportunities for success,” says Gluska. “Whether you’re an entrepreneur, small business owner, teacher, software engineer, digital marketer, student, or content creator, this book will provide you with creative techniques and examples you need to unlock the full potential of ChatGPT. With 52 real-world examples and actionable techniques, you’ll be able to start using ChatGPT to improve productivity in no time.”

The book explores how to use ChatGPT to create new opportunities, save time, and supercharge your ideas across a number of applications for personal life and business. Featured categories include:

• Creative Writing
• Academia and Education
• Planning and Assistance
• Marketing and Sales
• General Business
• Career Development
• Coding and Software Development
• Technical Debugging
• Entertainment and Lifestyle
• General Language
• Music + Song Lyrics
• Health and Food

Gluska is a well-known website blogger and founder of Gold Penguin, a Miami, Florida-based digital marketing agency. He has leveraged online tools and software to create his own business and decided to author a book to share useful AI tools he has used.

“From ChatGPT to tiny SaaS tools, there are so many new products popping up that anyone can use to optimize their work and personal tasks,” he says. “You don’t have to be a programmer to benefit from ChatGPT. You can be an educator, marketer, student, historian, or digital content creator operating from anywhere.”  

 ChatGPT acts as a conversational chatbot filled with helpful knowledge. Users find it handy for applications as far ranging as from asking life advice to debugging broken code. Gluska’s book explores examples of those uses. It also provides real life examples, including prompts and responses. He suggests that readers pay key attention to how things are being asked: In what order, with what verbiage, and in what requested tone because those variations in prompts result in variations around answers. This book helps readers to better develop prompt engineering skills to produce the most effective results.

“I’ve been using ChatGPT since the day it was released and truly believe our society is on the brink of the next technological breakthrough which will be the Artificial Intelligence revolution.”

The event is open to anyone in the Syracuse University community interested in learning more about ChatGPT. It is free of charge and pizza will be served. To help with planning, or request a link to the recorded session, please e-mail LaunchPad@syr.edu

Judy “JB” McEnany will join the Syracuse University Blackstone LaunchPad for office hours to help student entrepreneurs improve their pitch and presentation skills starting February 2 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM. 

McEnany, received a BA from University of Southwestern Louisiana in Speech and Theater, MA from University of Arkansas in Speech and Children’s Theater, and Ph.D. From Kansas State University in Curriculum and Instruction. She retired from Montana State University Billings College of Education in 2015.

Since retirement, McEnany has taught several innovative English and public speaking courses surrounding topics such as body language, persuasion, psychology of color, and more. She is the House Director at Syracuse University Alpha XI Delta sorority.

Ventures who would like to meet Judy McEnany can stop in during office hours:

• Thursday, February 2 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM
• Wednesday, February 8 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM
• Thursday, February 9 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM
• Thursday, February 16 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM

Click here to view upcoming Spring competitions and deadlines.

Through the philanthropic gift of Syracuse University alumni and prominent artists Luise ’46, G’51 and Morton Kaish ’49, the Kaish Fellowship program was established in 2021. The program provides funding for undergraduate students from every discipline to undertake original research on the permanent art collection and to work with museum staff on exhibitions, scholarly publications and public programming.

Temerte is a senior at Syracuse University, double majoring in economics and writing and rhetoric studies, with minors in Spanish and strategic management. She is a Coronat Scholar, a member of the Renée Crown Honors Program and a 2022-23 Remembrance Scholar. She has been a LaunchPad Global Fellow throughout her tenure at Syracuse University and is also an entrepreneur. Her LaunchPad writing archive is here.

As a writer, Temerte has been interested in the concept of storytelling through fragments. Through her courses at Syracuse University, her fragmented storytelling approach continues to take shape in prose, depicting stories through the lens of passing moments and snippets of meaning that tell a greater narrative.

Recently, she has explored writing in multimedia forms, often combining prose, poetry, images, and video together. Temerte’s interest in the abstract and the surreal drew her to apply for the Kaish fellowship, and she envisions creating a small booklet of poems for her final project.

Through this opportunity, Temerte plans to work alongside interim Chief Curator Melissa Yuen to explore works of art by both Luise and Morton Kaish, as well as other artists in the permanent collection, which engage with collision and interruption.

The original story appears here.

Imagine how much easier entrepreneurship would be if you could brainstorm ideas, get help when you feel stuck, meet others who are on the same journey, inspire each other to move ahead, be held accountable and share resources. Upstate Founders, catalyzed by Clarkson University and supported through upstate ecosystem partners including the LaunchPad, is bringing masterminds and resources to student startups through a free networking and micro credentialing program funded through New York State. Applications are being accepted through December 10, 2022.

Applicants need to be New York State residents and early-stage entrepreneurs — anywhere from “I have an idea” to being in business for up to three years.

Upstate Founders is creating a massive network of 400 entrepreneurs across Upstate NY. All participants will be given access to new resources, including the chance to join an entrepreneurship mastermind. Participants will also get access to online courses in entrepreneurship to earn credentials from Clarkson University.

It is completely free to participants — a value of $7,500, according to network organizers.

Join 400 other student founders and take the journey together. Apply by December 10

Participate in free online micro-credential courses from Clarkson University. Gain instant access to  information to start and grow your business. Listen and learn at your own pace. No exams.

Come to a final graduation party and networking event to meet in person with the Upstate Founders network. Meet mastermind peers, discover programs and resources to support you on your next steps, and celebrate your progress. All those who have completed the programwill receive a Professional Certificate of Completion from Clarkson University.

Learn more here.

Do you have an idea that can change the world? Each year, VentureWell awards over $800,000 in non-dilutive E-Team grants to early-stage student innovation teams that develop scalable innovations which aim to solve large social, health, or environmental challenges.

If you are part of a student team developing an idea to solve large social, health, or environmental challenges, take a minute to check out the E-Team Program to discover how its training and grant funding can help you make your idea a reality. You’ll learn, along with a class of fellow innovators from across the country, what it takes to commercialize your innovation, from customer discovery to competitive analysis to developing a winning value proposition.

The E-Team Program, part of the VentureWell Accelerator, supports student ventures as they embark down the path they are likely to take as an innovator and entrepreneur. We help you advance student inventions through a powerful mix of up to $25,000 in grant funding, entrepreneurship training, mentorship by dedicated staff, national recognition, and networking with peers and industry experts. VentureWell team works closely with each venture to explore possible pathways for their innovations as they advance through an Early-Stage Innovator Training Program.

Key dates for the program:

• Info Session: December 13, 2022, 12 p.m. ET
• Info Session: January 18, 2023, 5:30 p.m. ET
• Application Deadline: February 1, 2023
• Pioneer Workshop: April 20-21, 2023
• Propel Workshop: May 4-5, 2023

Why apply?

Up to $25,000 in Grant Funding
Unlock up to $25,000 to launch your venture. Grants are competitive, recognized nationally as a source of non-dilutive funding, and empower innovators to explore commercialization.

Sponsored Training
Attend our fully funded training workshops and explore pathways for your venture. VentureWell has a bank of innovation curricula that combine lean startup principles with company building, professional development, and individual cultivation.

Networking & Mentorship
Tap into the VentureWell mentor and E-Team network, with the potential to connect with investors and strategic partners who can transform your venture.

National Exposure & Recognition
E-Team members have been named to the Time Magazine “Best Inventions” list and Forbes’ “30 Under 30”; appointed as an AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassador; and appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic, and other publications.

Is Your Innovation a Good Fit?

• Social/Environmental Impact: Inventions that will scale to address a pressing social, health, or environmental need. We fund innovations that can solve challenges including health, food security, energy, and climate change. See additional examples here.
• Science- and Engineering-Based Inventions: An innovation that is different from other competing technologies.
• Intent To Commercialize: A strong commitment to exploring commercialization of your innovation.
• Student Team Identified: Teams that include two or more students and a faculty advisor.

VentureWell has trained over 1,400 entrepreneurs in 500+ E-Teams. Teams that have taken part in the E-Team Program have raised $740+ million in follow-on funding. E-Teams have launched 500+ ventures since taking part in our program.

Want to learn more about our program from past program graduates? Meet E-Teams here

If you are a founder who is focused full-time on your startup,Venture Well can also help you prepare to launch and scale your company through ASPIRE and our investor network. Learn how VentureWell startup programming can help secure your first round of equity funding.

The E-Team Grant program is presented through the generous support of The Lemelson Foundation, Qualcomm, and SBIR/STTR America’s Seed Fund.

We invite you to join us for a free, live info session on December 13 at 12:00pm ET to learn more about how we can help you take your invention from lab to market. We’ll share important details about the E-Team Program and answer your questions about eligibility and how to apply!

Register here.

Upstate Capital is looking for the top entrepreneurial students at each college and university across New York State to become New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC) student ambassadors. 

Being selected as an ambassador means:

• Being seen as a young leader in the NYS innovation ecosystem
• Spreading the word about the NYBPC and entrepreneurial resources with fellow students
• Building your network and expanding your influence on campus
• Gaining valuable skills including:
  • Developing and managing relationships
  • Public speaking and content creation
  • Recruiting and training volunteers
  • Event organization
• Getting all the resources you need to succeed and some merch from the NYBPC

Ambassadors are influencers on campus who are sharing entrepreneurial resources and spreading the word about the NYBPC.

If you want to be considered as a NYBPC student ambassador, please APPLY NOW.  NYBPC will announce decisions by Friday, December 9. 

The School of Information Studies (iSchool), with the support of Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University Libraries, is now accepting applications for the Raymond von Dran (RvD) iPrize Competition and the Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award. The concurrent competitions, hosted by the LaunchPad, are open to all full and part-time undergraduate and graduate students at Syracuse University. The joint event will be held on Friday March 24 at Bird Library from 2 to 5 p.m.

Students can now apply through a simple Common Application which includes a one-page executive summary for a proposed product, service, technology, or creative enterprise that may become a for-profit or non-profit enterprise. A total of $20,000 is expected to be awarded through the RvD Fund to the top performing students in various categories.

LaunchPad mentors are available to work with applicants to prepare for a five-minute pitch and five minute Q&A session with an elite panel of judges. The LaunchPad will offer offer coaching workshops during the spring semester to prepare for the competition.

The RvD fund is named after former iSchool dean Raymond von Dran, who served from 1995 until his death in 2007. He was a longtime academic entrepreneur and a staunch supporter of student innovation and started many innovative programs in higher education. To honor his memory and ensure that her husband’s infectious spirit for innovation continued, his wife Gisela generously created the RvD Fund.

The Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards runs concurrently with the RvD iPrize and are funded through a gift to iSchool from the Hunter Brooks Watson Memorial Fund to celebrate the life of Hunter Brooks Watson. Watson was a Syracuse student studying information management at iSchool who tragically lost his life as a passenger in a distracted driver automobile accident in 2016. Watson demonstrated a strong gift and enthusiasm in music, computer technology, the performing arts, and entrepreneurship. The awards recognize students who have passionate interests but may not have the financial means to bring his ideas to life.

“Every year the excitement around these entrepreneurial and innovation competitions grows, and the quality of applications is always impressive,” says David Seaman, dean of Syracuse University Libraries and acting dean of the iSchool. “Cross-campus partnerships, like our strong collaboration with iSchool, is what makes Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University Libraries such a successful program.”

Apply here by March 10, 2023: https://bit.ly/iprize23

For more information or to schedule coaching, email LaunchPad@syr.edu

Need a last day of class pick me up?  How about some new pieces of fashion in your closet for the holidays and winter break? Visit the legendary Popcycle pop up featuring the best curated Syracuse University start-up brands and exclusive clothing by student designers. The fashion collective will pop up Friday, December 9 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the LaunchPad, first floor of Bird Library. Stop by to see unique, one-of-a-kind fashions by student designers that can’t be found anywhere else.  It is a chance to get a first look at emerging designers before they become household names. 

The end of the semester event is more than a traditional pop-up, It’s “retail therapy” featuring young, fun fashions that pop.

Jackson Ensley ’22, a Whitman and LaunchPad alum, started the venture because he saw so many young creatives on campus producing incredible quality products, but having a hard time getting discovered.  “We give young and hungry brands the chance to experience the retail world in a way that they can’t with a big retail store as a startup,” he says.  “This creates a venue for them to pop out clothing brands in a scalable way. There are so many young designers on campuses across the country, and our goal is to help them get discovered.”

Ensley was an active member of the LaunchPad, curating many successful pop ups across campus as a student as he also created several other businesses ventures as a student. He was also a Rubin Family Innovation Mentor at the LaunchPad.

Joining him in creating this semester’s pop up experience is Aidan Turner ’24, an architecture major who is founder of the clothing line Grater Things.  Turner also recently curated a highly successful pop up of his own brand at the LaunchPad, and is now spearheading this event for Popcycle. He is a creative who blends elements of architecture in his trendy brand which he worked with Ensley to help develop. Now he is working with Ensley to continue the Popcycle legacy.

Also working with them is Rob Goldblatt ’23, founder of SOS! with a mission to create a stylish street wear clothing line made from sustainably sourced materials, as well as upcylced fashions that fuse personality, culture and inclusive representation. Goldblatt is also a west coast hip hop artist and skateboarder, with a pulse on fashion forward trends, and he is an expert in guerilla marketing. He is an incoming Rubin Family Innovation Mentor this coming spring at the LaunchPad.

Stop by the LaunchPad Friday, December 9 and celebrate the last day of classes with style.

@popcycle.cuse

@graterthings