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BRISTOL, R.I. – This spring, innovation and sustainability collided at ɫ����̳, where five finalist teams of undergraduate students stepped into the spotlight for a Shark Tank-style business pitch competition. The teams were vying for a $2,000 prize to help turn their classroom ideas into real-world impact.

The May 6 competition was the culmination of Blue Entrepreneurship, a new interdisciplinary course offered this spring, co-taught by faculty from the Gabelli School of Business and the Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED). The class is part of the university’s Blue Solutions Institute and challenged students to confront environmental and societal problems by developing entrepreneurial solutions rooted in the blue economy, a sector focused on the sustainable use of ocean, water, and coastal resources.

“This course reflects the university's commitment to leverage its existing assets while pushing the boundary of excellence in higher education,” said Lawrence Feinberg, founder of  and adjunct faculty member who co-taught the new course. “The Blue Entrepreneurship course seeks to incorporate interdisciplinary skills that today's students are going to need to be successful in the fast-evolving world they are inheriting. Entrepreneurship represents being creative, resourceful, and a commitment to doing things better than they are being done now – all things RWU!”

Throughout the semester, 17 student teams explored issues like climate change, water scarcity, marine pollution, and food insecurity, working to turn these global challenges into opportunities. The goal was to design market-ready products or services, complete with a marketing plan, financial model, and executive summary. In the end, five teams advanced to the final round, where they presented to a panel of “sharks” composed of business investors, marine experts, and economic development leaders.

In the end, one student team’s concept for “The Drunken Tilapia” took home the $2,000 prize. Their idea for a multi-industry aquaponics startup blends craft beer, sustainable aquaculture, and biomedical innovation. Co-founders Marine Biology senior Patrick Brosky and Marketing senior Rachel Boyden proposed a closed-loop system that raises tilapia while growing hops hydroponically. But it doesn't stop there: the fish skins, which are rich in collagen, are then repurposed into medical-grade skin grafts.

“We started with a simple question. How can we create a system that does more?” said Brosky, from Huntington, N.Y. “No one is combining aquaculture, brewing, and biomedical recovery like this. We’re creating a system that feeds people, brings them together over a beer, and helps heal them. That’s pretty powerful.”

“Craft breweries and fish farms struggle with thin margins,” said Boyden, who is from Bristol, R.I. “We saw an opportunity to connect these growing industries and add a whole new revenue stream in biotech by repurposing waste from our fish into medical-grade products.” 

The diversity of topics mirrored the expansiveness of the blue economy itself:

• AquaBuddy – An app-based service to help monitor the health of home aquariums.
• Kelp Bag – A biodegradable plastic bag alternative.
• Aquapath – A rapid-response disease test kit for fish farmers.
• Pearlification – A large-scale aquarium filtration system aide using oysters.

While the ideas may have varied, they all shared a common thread: a commitment to solving real problems through smart, sustainable business models.

“The Blue Entrepreneurship course is the first of many collaborations between the faculty and staff of the Gabelli School of Business and Marine and Natural Sciences departments. We are developing programming that provides career-relevant training to our students and positions them to become leaders in the blue economy,” said Koty Sharp, Director of CEED and Associate Professor of Marine Biology. Also, part of this collaboration is the Blue Fellows Program, an internship program funded by Elizabeth Moore HD'24 that is dedicated to creating new opportunities for students to engage in marine science and entrepreneurship.