The Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship has selected 10 student business venture ideas as finalists.

Tyler O’Briant, Tonganoxie, and Sam Rozell, Manhattan, both seniors in electrical engineering, pitched the idea of Eyas, which will provide the first advanced police support quadcopter drone on the market.

The Eyas will provide dual functionality as a reconnaissance and a documentation tool, enhancing police officers’ ability to more fully understand the myriad of dangerous situations they face on a daily basis, as well as provide more appropriate, over-the-shoulder documentation once these situations commence.

In all, 212 student teams representing every college in the university entered the competition, which included attending an orientation session and submitting a written executive summary. The submissions were then reviewed by a selection committee that whittled down the field to the remaining 10 finalists.

The finalists will first present their business ideas to attendees at the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce After Hours event in the College of Business Building Atrium from last week. Attendees at the event will be asked to vote for their favorite team, with $2,000 being split among the teams based on percentage of votes received. The final $18,000 in prize money will be distributed by a panel of judges on Nov. 18, as all 10 teams will have a chance to pitch their idea to the judges, followed by a question-and-answer session.

“This competition is a great way to allow students to think creatively and explore their entrepreneurial spirits,” said Chad Jackson, director of the Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship. “The real-world experience of pitching a business in front of the type of business owners and experts we have on our panel is invaluable.”