Community Partners
Applications for our winter challenge are now closed.
If you are interested in participating in our Fall 2021 competition, please fill out the survey through the link below.
How does it work?
After bringing students together into cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural teams, students will meet with your organization to gather information and context and learn about the challenges you are facing. They will be connected with mentors who will assist in the identification and development of the team’s solution to your challenge. The team will put together an online presentation, sharing their proposed solution to your issue. Presentations will be judged (including feedback from you) and the top teams will receive additional feedback and mentoring before going on to a final round of the competition.
What we expect from you
- We will need you to come up with a problem/challenge for a student group to solve – ideally a real-world challenge that your organization is currently facing
- We expect there to be an approximate time commitment of 15-20 hours from late January to late March 2021, including:
- An initial meeting with the team(s) to provide them with an overview of your organization and to explain the particular issue/challenge you are facing
- 2-3 follow up meetings to answer questions and provide guidance as needed
- A meeting for the team’s presentation of their solution
- We would ask that there be a dedicated point of contact in your organization for the student team. We will make the initial introductions between you and the student groups. After that, it is the students’ responsibility to communicate with the organization.
Community Partner Guide
For more details about what to expect and how you will be working with students, click here to access our Community Partner Guide.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
What to expect from students
This challenge will be a very unique experience for all parties involved and we are so excited for our students to be part of a solution for your organization. Since you will be working with students, it's a good idea to get an understanding of the expectations we have for students in advance to guide your feedback. Check out the Student section of our website to get an understanding of our expectations of students as well as the judging criteria for the actual competition.
Challenge Timeline
This is the tentative schedule for our winter challenge and is subject to change.