Teams of up to 10 students will compete in the Elon University Innovation Challenge beginning this week, which requires students to add value to an everyday item by giving it an additional purpose.

Participants will create videos of no more than three minutes that demonstrate the value they have added to the mystery item, which will be revealed Nov. 10. Previous competition items include a water bottle and a newspaper.

"You can add any kind of value to the item. There's a lot of room for creativity," said sophomore Kavi Shelar, student organizer of the Innovation Challenge.

The idea for the Innovation Challenge came from a similar contest at Stanford University, according to Shelar. The contest is unique to Elon, but all college students in North Carolina are encouraged to form teams.

Last year, one team increased the functionability of a water bottle by making a raft, which became a social commentary on Cuban immigration to the United States. Another finalist created a video of entertainment value in which the group made a humorous video of a water bottle car.

The videos must be completed by Nov. 14 at noon and will then be sent to a group of 10 to 12 entrepreneurship professors from other universities to be judged.

"Usually the most creative video wins, as well as what would be the most successful and valuable item if it were actually made," Shelar said.

Donations will be made to the top three teams' charities of choice. The awards will be $400 for first place, $200 for second and $100 for third.

In addition to the main prize, 10 to 15 of the best videos will be shown in LaRose Digital Theatre for the "audience prizes" Nov. 16. An audience will vote for categories of fan favorite, social concern and ingenuity. The winner of each category will receive a gift card of $50 or more.

Freshman Dustin Swope and his teammates will be working to raise money and awareness for their charity, Invisible Children. "I thought the competition would be a good opportunity for our charity," he said.

Students participating said they hope to gain skills that will transfer to their future careers, as innovation is valued in many different job settings.

"You can apply entrepreneurship to anything," Shelar said. "Every company needs people with an entrepreneurial mindset because they recognize opportunities and take advantage of them on the spot."

The competition will be hosted by Student Entrepreneurial Enterprise Development (SEED) and the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.