Fourteen University of Massachusetts Dartmouth students travelled to the Azores last week to enter their ideas for a startup business in a competition. Five of the UMass students were on the teams that took first and second place.

Graduate and undergraduate students from the university's Charlton College of Business travelled to the Nonagon Science and Technology Park in the Azores to stage Startup Weekend Azores. The event, organized by the Charlton College and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, brought student teams together to pitch their entrepreneurial ideas to judges. The CCB students formed teams with peers from the Azores.

The first place team was led by UMass Dartmouth student Kathryn Goudreau and fellow students Scott Davis and Kishleen Singh, along with Azorean team member Pedro Mato. Goudreau pitched an idea to provide tourists with healthy, locally sourced food and drink in convenient to go packaging.

The second place team, Biometric ID, included 15 Azorean team members that had come into Startup Weekend with an idea to reduce illegal cigarette sales to minors by matching biometric information to their government issued identification. The Azoreans were joined by UMass Dartmouth students Louisa Pellisari and Ananya Nagaraja.

The first and second place prizes included trips to the U.S. for Azorean team members and trips back to the Azores for the UMass Dartmouth students.

The UMass Dartmouth students will present their projects on Tuesday, March 28 at 5 p.m. at the Charlton College of Business, room 340.