February 2026 News
Alaska Innovation Summit - Pitch Contest Applications
February 03, 2026
Co-hosted with the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, the Alaska Airlines Pitch Contest brings together aspiring entrepreneurs who will pitch their business venture to a panel of experts, as well as the ultimate panel – Innovation Summit attendees! Pitch contestants will have 5-6 minutes to pitch their business plan in front of attendees who will crowdfund a cash prize for the winner to take home at the end of the session.
NSF EPSCoR IoC: 2026 Academic Accelerator - Innovation and Entrepreneurship
February 04, 2026
At the Â鶹Դ´F Center for Innovation, we wanted to share details about our upcoming Academic Accelerator. Supported through the NSF EPSCoR project Interface of Change, we have a seven week set of workshops, with 1-hr a week. Each of these workshops is aimed to provide you with a session to prepare you for a new business venture, federal innovation funding, early-stage entrepreneurship programming in Alaska, and how to assess and evaluate the value of your innovation research and how to pitch your innovative solution to potential investors and end-users.
20,000 In Seed Funding for New Interdisciplinary Projects
February 09, 2026
This event is remote and will happen on zoom. Upon registration, you will receive a zoom link and calendar invite. The event will take place from 12:00-1:30pm. The event will began with a presentation from Tori McDermott, Jennifer Schell, Petra Banks, and Lia Ferguson presenting on a project that was support by an Ideation Studio Seed Fund, focused on a Problem-Based Learning module for Â鶹Դ´F classes.
Company Building and Fundraising with Scott Walbrun - Presented by NSF I-Corps Hub Northwest
February 19, 2026
Join NSF I-Corps Hub Northwest and Scott Walbrun, Venture Capitalist at BMW i Ventures, for a three-part intensive series designed to take you from lab innovation to investor-ready. ​This hands-on program demystifies fundraising by teaching you how investors evaluate startups, and how to build a model that proves your venture’s potential.