Deadline: 28 January 2013
Open to: Any undergrad or graduate student in any field of study, from any country
Prizes: More than $105,000 in cash prizes and more than $350,000 worth of in-kind prizes
Description
The Dell Corporation invites all undergrad or graduate students in any field of study, from any country, to enter the Social Innovation Challenge competition.
The Dell Social Innovation Challenge identifies and supports promising young social innovators who dedicate themselves to solving the world’s most pressing problems with their transformative ideas. They provide university students interested in social entrepreneurship with world-class teaching and training, as well as with start-up capital and access to a network of mentors and advisors.
They offer four entry categories to reward and support innovations at all stages of development. You can submit as many project proposals as you’d like.
- Define: Project exists mainly in your head or a few sketched ideas, with limited research at this point.
- Design: Project captured in a written plan, with some more formal market research, the beginnings of formal internal and external teams and more detailed elements such as financial model, pricing, marketing, customer segmentation and risk assessment.
- Pilot: Product/service has been tested with a small group of clients/customers. Team continues making revisions based on field knowledge.
- Scale: Product/service has proven successful and is being deployed in more than one geographic area. Enterprise has strong and sustainable financial and human resources models, plus a strong board of directors and strategic partners.
Eligibility
ALL university students in the world can enter the challenge – it doesn’t matter what school you attend or what you’re studying. Everything from early-stage ideas to mature projects that are up and running can compete to win. Your innovation project could be vested in starting a nonprofit organization, a for-profit business, a campaign, community volunteerism, university club or even other informal or formal operations.
Most projects are lead by teams of students. If you need more help, the full challenge website will let you to connect with potential team members or help others on their projects.
Awards
Since our launch, more than 15,000 students from 105 countries have proposed more than 4,500 ideas. We’ve awarded more than $450,000 to moe than 50 student teams around the world. Each year we fly challenge Finalists and Sepcialty Award winners to Austin, Texas (USA), for a weekend of mentoring, workshops, and other activities as part of the Verb Awards. Our Semi-Finalists are also matched with mentors for one-on-one coaching and feedback.
The 2013 challenge will offer and give out more than $350,000 in cash and in-kind prizes. Our Grand Prize Awards are chosen by judges, offering five cash prizes totaling $105,000. The People’s Choice Awards are voted on in 17 categories by our online community–one $1,000 prize for each project earning the most online votes in 11 global issue areas and six geographic regions.
Global Award Rounds
Five Finalists will be flown to Austin, Texas, in May for a Finalist Week full of networking and mentoring with social innovation leaders. They’ll pitch live in front of our judges for these Grand Prize Awards:
- $50,000 Grand Prize
- $20,000 Second Prize
- $10,000 Third Prize
Two Expertise Award winners (selected by judges) will also attend Finalists Weekend:
- $15,000 Tomberg Prize in Environmental Sustainability
- $10,000 Best Innovation Leveraging Technology presented by Dell
200+ Semi-Finalists (selected by judges) will receive:
- 1:1 Mentoring from DSIC-Certified Mentor to refine their project page and required Finals materials (video pitch and project roadmap)
People’s Choice Awards
17 People’s Choice Award Winners will be selected via online voting.
- $1,000 Each
- 11 Focus Awards
- 6 Regional Awards
Application
Entering is free and easy! You can enter as many projects as you’d like, in any category.
- Join. Complete your profile HERE.
- Build. Create your team by adding members, or find a team to join.
- Create. Complete your project page, which serves as your official competition entry, by January 28.
- Learn. Build your influence to learn new skills for improving your project.
- Connect. Explore our community to find interesting people and projects worldwide.
Molu li svrseni studenti da posalju svoje projekte? Unapred hvala na odgovoru
Dear Ana,
ALL university students in the world can enter the challenge – it doesn’t matter what school you attend or what you’re studying, as it is mentioned in the eligibility criteria. Therefor, you need to be a student.
Kind regards,
Mladiinfo team