USD Student Innovators Compete for $30K to Solve Global Problems

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Feb 29, 2012, 06:02 ET

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- University of San Diego students who want to become "changemakers" to propose novel social innovation ideas will have the opportunity this Friday, March 2, when they give their presentations and compete for $30,000 in seed money to turn their ideas into reality. The event takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Students and professionals are welcome to attend to learn more about social innovation projects.

Under USD's second annual Social Innovation Challenge, students propose for-profit, hybrid social enterprises or nonprofit organizations to help solve a social, economic or environmental problem in San Diego, the United States or the world. After receiving 51 initial proposals on Feb. 19, 29 students have been invited to present their proposals to a panel of distinguished judges. Students will refine their proposals by April 2 and winners will be announced at an Awards Ceremony on April 27.

The challenge "invites students to take all the ideas and energy they have and implement a project they think can change the world," said Patricia Marquez, director of USD's Center for Peace and Commerce and co-chair of USD's Changemaker Hub. Ideas are designed to tackle social and environmental issues through efforts such as entrepreneurship, education or conflict resolution. Students are asked to develop proposals to achieve "the four P's – people, profit, planet and peace."

"Students are proposing ideas from remedying local homelessness to assuaging village conflict in Kenya, to addressing the excess waste caused by used tires in the United States to fueling entrepreneurship for women in Mali, Africa," said Marquez.

Last fall, USD became one of only 15 U.S. campuses to be named an "Ashoka Changemaker Campus," by the global nonprofit association Ashoka, known for its groundbreaking work in the field of social entrepreneurship to find solutions to global, social, environmental and economic problems. USD is also offering a course this spring, "Global Entrepreneurship for Social Change" where students learn how to develop successful organizations for social change.

Judges for this year's presentation include Charlie Piscitello, president of the Petco Foundation; Ned McMahon, founder and president of San Diego-based Malma Composites that develops non-petroleum, eco-friendly materials for "green" surfboards and other products; and Peg Ross, director of human capital of the Grameen Foundation.

A full presentation schedule is available at www.facebook.com/USDCPC or at www.sandiego.edu/cpc/sic.

SOURCE University of San Diego