Encouraging entrepreneurship would help Michigan diversify and stabilize its economy, she said. The competition was mentioned in the written version of Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s State of the State address on Tuesday.

“When you look at some of the fastest-growing industries, particularly those in which Michigan has a competitive advantage, they’re all being driven by innovation and the development of new technologies,” Beckman said.

The point of a competition would be to get a lot of people and students out there with business plans, and have people who have resources come watch them, said Jeff Elsworth, associate professor at the School of Hospitality Business.

However, Elsworth said he is a part of the Mid-Michigan Innovation Team, which is a network working to reinvent Michigan’s economy.

This includes members from four other universities, including Saginaw Valley State University and Central Michigan University, which are working to tie-in higher education with entrepreneurship, he said.

“I’m not sure why (MEDC) wants universities competing against each other, because right now we’re working together,” Elsworth said.

Colleges and universities have competed for and received appropriations from this sort of thing before, Beckman said.

MSU officials said they are not aware of this competition.

“This is not anything that rings a bell with me, but that certainly doesn’t mean anything,” said Tom Oswald, a university spokesman. “If it’s something that was just mentioned, it’s probably not something people have put a lot of thought into as of yet.”

Having more entrepreneurial activity at the university would not only benefit MSU, but students as well, Elsworth said.

“I could see a multitude of things,” he said. “We would have courses, we’d have workshops … we also could involve students in entrepreneurial research.”