By: LT Kristen Wheeler
Buckle up, Jacksonville! Tomorrow our innovative community joins the Athena Family!
The Athena Project is hosting its first ever South East event at 5:30 on October 29th at CoLabJax on the Jacksonville waterfront. Six innovative Sailors will pitch their ideas to the collected crowd and to a panel of special-guest Sharks from the civilian and military communities at an event free to all in the Jacksonville area!
Teamed up with the game changers at CoLabJax, a maker space, and also The Bunker, an incubator for military entrepreneurs, the Sailors will present their creative concepts to make the Navy better at an event that would inspire a tip of the hat from Nikola Tesla. And Tesla would probably be impressed with the prizes too!
This event has been months in the making. From July until September, Sailors used the Secretary of the Navy’s online idea collaboration space, “The Hatch,” to craft their creative concepts. And, with the assistance from Major Armando Martinez, from SECNAV’s Innovation and Strategy team, USS IWO JIMA conducted an exclusive competition wherein participating Sailors were awarded Special Liberty for accruing the most points and also for the best ideas. Select Sailors were then invited to pitch their idea at Athena South East 1.0.
In preparation for the big event, CoLabJax hosted a practice session yesterday, where the participants learned the art of the elevator pitch from CoLabJax co-founder and entrepreneur expert, Jason Salvagni.
There are still some spots available if you’re in the area and interested in coming to the event to collaborate with other innovators or to watch some of the great ideas, give feedback and vote for Jacksonville’s first Admiral Sims Award winner! You can register here – nice but not mandatory. If you want to just come on by, do it!
Come be a part of The Athena Project’s Jacksonville team at the first ever Athena South East!
Leaning on lessons learned from Athena Project founder, Dave Nobles, and Athena’s Fleet Lead, LCDR Drew Barker, the event on the 29th promises to be interesting and interactive in a unique space where Sailors and civilians can ideate, collaborate, and take a leap together into the future.
LT Kristen Wheeler is the former Combat Systems Officer onboard USS IWO JIMA. She’s currently transitioning between duty stations on her way to become a part of the Naval Innovation Advisory Council in San Francisco, California.
There are loads of Athena Events coming up! If you’re in the San Diego, Groton or Yokosuka areas, connect with us if you want to be a part of our upcoming events! Connect with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenanavy or follow us on Twitter: @AthenaNavy. Interested in starting a movement of your own? Message us, or e-mail athenanavy@gmail.com!
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