The first Idea to Product® competition was held in 2001 by the Technology Entrepreneurship Society in cooperation with the Chair of Free Enterprise, the College of Engineering, and the IC2 Institute and its MSSTC Alumni Association. Since its inaugural year, TES members have continued to be the primary organizers of the event, with close oversight and involvement from the Chair of Free Enterprise. Over 200 UT student teams have entered the competition—representing the colleges of engineering, natural science, business, law, and liberal arts—since the first competition in 2001.
In 2002, the College of Engineering, the McCombs School of Business, and the IC2 Institute collaborated to develop an international version of the I2P Competition. Six teams competed in the first I2P® International Competition, which was hosted by UT Austin in November 2003. The execution of the I2P® International Competition was modeled after the MOOTCORP® competition. The staff of the Chair of Free Enterprise were the primary coordinators of the international event, with support from TES. As in the regional I2P® competitions, entries are judged based on the market opportunity, technological feasibility, and intellectual property position of the underlying innovation. The teams compete for over $25,000 in cash prizes, and the winner of I2P® Global may compete in the Global Venture Labs Investment Competition (formerly MOOTCORP).
Following the growth model of MOOTCORP®, regional I2P® competitions have been established through the United States and in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
I2P in Sweden
In 2011 it was the first time I2P Global was hosted outside of the U.S., and since honor had fallen on the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden it was decided to also create a regional competition to act as a qualification round (formerly known as I2P Sweden) for the students in Sweden.
Both I2P Sweden and the 2011 I2P Global became a great success and it was decided to upgrade the regional competition to incorporate all of Swedens universities in the qualification competition for I2P Global 2012. This meant rebranding the I2P Sweden competition to the more apt I2P Sweden name.
The I2P Sweden competition will host its first annual event on October 5, 2012.
From which the winners will represent Sweden in the 2012 I2P Global on November 15-17.