Invention as Public Service at MITInspire, Support, and Scale Student Innovation

January 1, 2011

No MIT students were harmedmaking this presentation

25,800 companies founded by MIT alumni employ about 3.3 million people and generate annual world revenues of $2 trillion, producing the equivalent of the eleventh-largest economy in the world.*

* From the 2009 Kauffman Foundation report, “Entrepreneurial Impact: The Role of MIT”

Imagine if we applied that technical and entrepreneurial talent to today’s urgent humanitarian challenges.

MIT is known more like this

And this

And this

Than this

This

Or this

Agriculture, Processing

Education, Training

Emergency, Disaster Relief

Energy, Environment

Employment, Entrepreneurship

Housing, Transportation

Health, Accessibility

Mobiles, ICTs

Water, Sanitation

Goal 1Support MIT’s entrepreneurial ecology by connecting and awarding teams of public service innovators that are tackling barriers to human well-being in communities around the world.

Goal 2Foster student innovation through an annual competition that supports the translation of ideas into innovative, feasible project proposals with the potential for impact.

Lifecycle1-3 Discovery, Design

Students learn aboutdesign challenges,teams propose solutionsand receive feedbackon their ideas.

4-5 Decide, DeployJudges nominate winners;they are announced at theawards ceremony and have ayear to implement their projects.

Goal 3Involve the worldwide MIT community in activities that support student innovation, deliver results to communities alumni care about, and respond to alumni interests.

PerfectSightDeveloped an

innovative, mobile system for diagnosing

refractive eye conditions for under $1

using cell phones.

Year awarded: 2010 Location: India

Egg EnergyDeveloped innovative

lighting and energy leasing franchise that aims

to eliminate costly, unhealthy, and dangerous

kerosene lanterns used around the world.

Year awarded: 2009 Location: Tanzania

AssuredLabor/EmpeoListo!

Developed a mobile platform to rapidly

connect employers with workers who may lack

reliable connection to the internet.

Year awarded: 2008 Location: Nicaragua

Goals Recap•Support innovation for development ecology•Nurture students, teams, and projects•Engage worldwide alumni base

Launch in the context of growth and celebration

Where we’re headed•Launch to the World January 7•Final Proposals due April 5• Online Voting begins April 6• Poster & Judging Session is April 25• Award Ceremony is May 2• Teams Hit the Field in June

Celebrate with us!

Help us•Promote the Global Challenge•Identify innovation opportunities•Secure award sponsors•Mentor students, recruit peers•Judge final entries

Thank youLars Hasselblad Torreslhtorres@mit.edu

Kate Myttykmytty@mit.edu

On the web http://globalchallenge.mit.eduOn Twitter @mitchallenge