MIT Solve Announces Recipients of Second-Round Prize Funding totaling $1.5 Million from Australian DFAT and Atlassian Foundation International

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 17, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, announced the Solver recipients of the remaining $1.5 million pool of prize funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and Atlassian Foundation International.  

During the Solve at MIT Opening Plenary, Nicola Watkinson, General Manager, The Americas, Australian Trade and Investment Commission and Deputy Consul-General, Australian Consulate-General (New York) announced the second-round funding recipients of the DFAT Indo-Pacific Development Prize. Mark Reading, Head of Foundation, Atlassian announced the second-round funding recipients of the Atlassian "10 in 10" Prize. Last year, at the Solve at MIT meeting, both organizations announced their collective pledge of $2 million prize funding.

The following second-round funding recipients will each receive a portion of the remaining $1.5 million pool of prize funding to scale their work:

• 40K Plus
• Baan Dek Foundation
• Open Learning Exchange
• Raspberry Pi Foundation
• Ruangguru
• Rumie
• Wanji
• WeRobotics

"We are extremely impressed by the Solver teams selected to receive the next round of funding—and thrilled to celebrate these innovators at Solve at MIT," said Mark Reading, Head of the Atlassian Foundation. "This type of collaboration is critical as Atlassian works to prepare 10 million disadvantaged youth for the workforce of the future within 10 years."  

"Supporting innovation is critical to the future of education in the Indo-Pacific and across the world," said Nicola Watkinson, Deputy Consul-General, Australian Consulate-General. "We are pleased to join MIT Solve and the Atlassian Foundation in spearheading this effort."

"We are delighted to work with DFAT and the Atlassian Foundation over the course of the last year and grateful for their generous funding of our innovative Solver teams," said Solve's Executive Director, Alex Amouyel. "This next wave of funding will allow these Solver teams to have immense social impact at scale."

About DFAT:  
The innovationXchange (iXc) is an initiative of the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Launched in 2015, the iXc seeks to achieve impact in foreign affairs and development through the application of new tools and approaches that accelerate the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Australia's Foreign Policy White Paper. By partnering with over 30 organisations, including Google, GSMA, USAID, XPRIZE, Atlassian, and now MIT Solve, the iXc has leveraged the skills, knowledge, and finance of others for development impact. These partnerships have led to a number of open innovation challenges across a wide range of themes, including the LAUNCH Food Challenge (focusing on improving nutrition), the MIKTA Education in Emergencies Challenge (continuing education in crisis situations) and the Google Impact Challenge (technology for development). More information is available at ixc.dfat.gov.au.

About Atlassian: 
Atlassian unleashes the potential of every team. Our collaboration software helps teams organize, discuss, and complete shared work. Teams at more than 112,000 customers, across large and small organizations—including Citigroup, eBay, Coca-Cola, Visa, BMW, and NASA—use Atlassian's project tracking, content creation and sharing, real-time communication, and service management products to work better together and deliver quality results on time. Philanthropy has always been a part of Atlassian's DNA. Back when the company was a small startup, the company's founders baked corporate philanthropy into the business model, making the conscious decision to Pledge 1%. Because of this pledge, the Atlassian Foundation International is able to set a bold goal of helping to educate 10 million disadvantaged youth in 10 years, giving them the skills they need for the workforce of the future, "10 in 10".  

About Solve:  
Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that advances lasting solutions from tech entrepreneurs to address the world's most pressing problems. Solve issues four Challenges each year across its pillars—Economic Prosperity, Health, Learning, and Sustainability—to find the most promising Solver teams who will drive transformational change. Solve then deploys its global community of private, public, and nonprofit leaders to form partnerships these Solver teams need to scale their impact. Last year, more than 1,000 people from 103 countries submitted solutions to Solve's four Challenges. Solve's open Challenges include: (1) Work of the Future, (2) Frontlines of Health, (3) Coastal Communities, and (4) Teachers & Educators. Join the community at solve.mit.edu.

The Solve at MIT event program can be found here, and confirmed speakers can be found here. If you're interested in joining Solve as a member, including attending Solve at MIT, see here.

PR Contact:
Andrea Snyder, MIT Solve
[email protected]

SOURCE MIT Solve

Related Links

http://solve.mit.edu