Invent Oregon is more than a competition—it’s a launchpad for the next generation of innovators. As Oregon’s only statewide collegiate prototyping challenge, InventOR empowers students to turn their ideas into tangible solutions that create real-world impact.

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At the core of InventOR is the Entrepreneurial Mindset coupled with a human-centered philosophy for creative problem solving. We challenge students not just to make something, but to make something that matters. That means leading with empathy, cultivating curiosity, and most importantly, falling in love with the problem, not the solution. This mindset keeps students open, adaptable, and capable of the pivot, so their ideas can evolve based on what people actually need and value.

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Every InventOR team embarks on a journey of discovery, guided by the Lean Startup process. At Bootcamp, our intensive three-day design sprint, students stress-test their ideas through rapid iteration, customer discovery, and real-time feedback. It’s a crash course in building with purpose and learning through doing.

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Throughout the process, students build confidence and competence in three essential areas:

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• Design Thinking -- A human-centered, iterative approach grounded in empathetic discovery and user feedback
   

• Business Model Canvas – A strategic framework for testing viability, sustainability, and the potential to generate both impact and income
   

• Storytelling – Clear, concise, and compelling communication that informs, inspires, and persuades
   

InventOR is about more than invention; it’s about action. It’s about learning to ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, and refine ideas based on real human experience—not just theory.

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Each team receives a $2,000 development grant, 1:1 mentorship, dedicated guidance, resources and tools to help them move from sketch to showcase. Finalists present their inventions at the InventOR Collegiate Challenge each June, where they compete for $30,000 in prizes—and the opportunity to scale their ideas even further.

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With support from visionary partners like the Lemelson Foundation, Business Oregon, Roundhouse Foundation, Ford Family Foundation, and Portland State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, InventOR is cultivating a statewide community of thoughtful, impact-driven innovators—students who are not only building things, but building a better future.