Deadline: 13 February 2012
Open to: Any undergrad or graduate student in any field of study, from any country
Prizes: More than $140,000 in cash prizes and more than $500,000 worth of in-kind prizes
Description
Beginning January 3, 2012 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 andtraining, 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
Any undergrad or graduate student in any field of study, from any country, can enter our challenge. This isn’t your traditional business plan competition – you can enter a project at any stage, whether you’ve just thought of an idea or are already running an organization. It doesn’t matter if your idea is nonprofit or for-profit. Great ideas come from anywhere and everywhere, so let’s hear yours!
Most projects are lead by teams of students. If you need more help, the full challenge website (launching January 3), will let you to connect with potential team members.
Awards
Since its launch, more than 15,000 students from 90 countries have proposed more than 3,000 ideas. They’ve awarded more than $350,000 to 13 student teams around the world. Each year, the organizers fly challenge Finalists and Expertise Award winners to Austin for a weekend of mentoring, workshops, and other activities, as part of the DSIC Global Awards Event. Semi-Finalists are also matched with mentors for one-on-one coaching and feedback.
The 2012 challenge will present 27 awards, more than $140,000 in cash prizes and more than $500,000 worth of in-kind prizes.
Global Award Rounds
Five Finalists will be flown to Austin for our Global Awards Event full of networking and mentoring. Plus, they’ll compete live in front of our judges for these Global Awards:
- $50,000 Grand Prize
- $20,000 Second Prize
- $10,000 Third Prize
Two Expertise Award winners (selected by judges) will also attend our Global Awards Event:
- $15,000 Tomberg Environmental Sustainability
- $10,000 Dell Technology Innovation
200+ Semi-Finalists (selected by judges) will receive:
- 1:1 Mentoring from DSIC-Certified Mentor to hone their plans
- The opportunity to pitch & compete (via online video) for the Global Awards
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. Entry opens 3 January when the full challenge site launches. Sign up now so you’re the first to know.
- Join. Complete your profile at DellChallenge.org.
- Summarize. Complete your project page by February 13.
- Learn. Explore the free online tools for improving and advancing your project.