Stories & Updates

The Blue Hen 17&43 Awards are the University of Delaware’s way of recognizing students and alumni who are part of today’s most promising new ventures and fastest-growing companies. Applications are being sought through July 23, 2021, with an award presentation planned for September.

The Innovative Delaware Educator Awards celebrate the contributions of high school educators towards creating an environment for students to grow their entrepreneurial skills. Horn Entrepreneurship values the work of educational professionals and looks to support them in creating innovative opportunities for Delaware students. Each of the awards provides a mini-grant of up to $500 to be used towards an innovative project at their school. The projects will be executed over the course of the 2021 Fall semester in and out of the classroom through strategically implemented clubs and other programs.

Summer Founders 2021 Teams Announced

University of Delaware startups GetPotluck and TheraV won a total of $40,000 at the 2021 Startup302 competition, a Delaware-based funding competition for technology-enabled startups led by underrepresented founders.

The MakerGym got off to a quiet but impactful start this past spring semester with the introduction of the Make It Happen Challenge. The inaugural cohort successfully completed work that further advanced their innovative product ideas. The challenge is designed to assist those students with design, funding or fabrication help and to gain access to the training, tools, materials and mentoring needed. The Make It Happen Challenge is co-presented by the UD MakerGym and Horn Entrepreneurship in both spring and fall semesters.

Horn Entrepreneurship celebrated the success, creativity and ingenuity of nine students at the Delaware Innovation Fellows (DIF) Spring Showcase. The showcase marked the culmination of a multi-year, multi-phase enrichment program designed to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and skill set in its fellows. The DIF students in this cohort hail from six majors and many other academic programs throughout the university, and their Innovation Project topics varied from nutrition to real estate to sustainable architecture to healthcare. 

Like many teens and young adults in the U.S., Darian Elmendorf had spent many years throughout high school and college silently battling anxiety and depression. And while his struggles were real and acutely felt in his daily life, they were not, at first, readily identifiable.

With environmental problems persisting and increasing around the globe, entrepreneurs and change makers are working on new and bold ideas that can tackle the world's foremost sustainability challenges.

The Diamond Challenge, an entrepreneurship platform for high school students from around the world, recently wrapped up its week-long summit which took place virtually this year, from April 11 - 16, 2021.

Hen Hatch is UD's premier entrepreneurial startup funding event.

NEW to Hen Hatch is an option to pre-apply for the fall Hen Hatch 2021 event. Pre-applications are being accepted until Friday, May 28 through 11:59 PM. The official application period follows beginning May 29.

What’s new?

Teams who pre-apply, and advance to the semifinal round but do not advance to the final round, of Hen Hatch will automatically win $500. In past years, only those teams who advance to the final round of Hen Hatch win funding.