2026 Beef Improvement Federation “Shark Tank” competition

About

Where: JUMP, Boise, ID

When: Tuesday night 6:30 pm

Prize: All finalists invited to present at BIF will receive a $750 travel stipend to attend the meeting

• 3rd Prize: $1,000 scholarship

• 2nd Prize: $2,000 scholarship

• 1st Prize: $3,000 scholarship

This competition for undergraduate and graduate students at US and Canadian institutions, is sponsored by the Beef Improvement Federation with the goal of increasing graduate student involvement in the annual meeting. It will consist of two phases: a written proposal and an invited oral presentation.

Proposal

Your written proposal should consist of a one-page document (12 pt. Calibri) outlining your “Shark Tank” idea, with the title page below attached. It should be separate from the student’s thesis or dissertation project, as confirmed by your advisor (see below), and contain a novel idea in one of the following areas:

• novel ways to use existing data for new trait development

• novel applications of technology for phenotype collection (incl. high-throughput phenotyping)

• application of artificial intelligence in animal breeding

Requirements

You should summarize your idea and its potential impacts on genetic evaluation or genetic progress in the beef industry with the focus being a scientific audience. This should be e-mailed as a pdf to megrolf@ksu.edu by April 15 11:59 pm CST.

Each entry will be assessed by a panel of judges. If necessary, the top applicants may be invited to present their idea in a short Zoom presentation to the panel of judges and finalists will be announced.

Presentations

Up to 10 finalists will be invited to present their idea during a short, 2-3 minute public presentation (slides not required but no more than 3 slides will be allowed) during the Shark Tank competition. The focus of the public presentation should be similar to the TV show, and incorporate the scientific idea and principles for a lay audience. Similar to the TV show, a 3-4 minute question and answer period will occur following the public presentation and the panel of judges will decide the winners. You will be held to a strict timeline, so please make sure your presentation fits within these guidelines.

Creativity is highly encouraged for both ideas and presentations. You may utilize other people or props in your presentation, but other people participating in the information delivery is not allowed (for example, they can be involved in a skit, but cannot answer questions or present vital details during the presentation).

Winners will be chosen at the competition by the panel of judges and announced immediately following the event.

If you have questions, please contact the committee chair, Megan Rolf, at megrolf@ksu.edu.

How to Submit

Name:

Title of Shark Tank Presentation:

Institution:

Advisor:

I certify that the enclosed idea does not overlap the student’s thesis or dissertation work