Students from Stephen F. Austin State University interested in effecting positive economic and social change have an opportunity to make a difference by participating in the on-campus round of the Hult Prize, a global competition with a $1 million prize.
Working in conjunction with the United Nations, the competition aims to fund projects that change lives, encouraging students to find solutions to a social challenge selected each year by former President Bill Clinton. This year’s theme, “For Us, By Us, Youth Unemployment,” prompts students to pitch start-ups with the goal of creating jobs for youths.
Sabina Adhikari, Hult Prize campus director and sophomore computer science major of Kathmandu, Nepal, decided to organize the event because it exposes students to important issues and encourages creative problem-solving, she said.
“Students will get an opportunity to experience the business world, the service world and, most importantly, the real world,” Adhikari said.
The event will be held at 10 a.m. Jan. 26 in the McGee Business Building, Room 161, and is open to students of any major and classification. Students are required to form teams of three or four to participate and will present their start-ups to a panel of faculty members. Teams are encouraged to present a PowerPoint with their ideas, strategies and overall vision.
The winning team will advance to the regional finals and compete for a chance to become one of the six teams presenting at the global final in New York City, hosted by the U.N.
“The Hult Prize is, perhaps, the most significant prize a college student could win,” said Dr. Paul Henley, event judge and assistant director of the Office of Student Learning and Institutional Assessment. “It’s the primary venue for a bright, thoughtful, innovative group of students to change the world with their ideas.”
For more information, contact Adhikari at adhikaris3@jacks.sfasu.edu.
By Joanna Armstrong, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.
