Ohio University students are invited to participate in this year’s Scripps Innovation Challenge.
This will be the fifth year of the Challenge, which has emerged as one of the nation’s premier student innovation contests. It offers a substantial prize pot of $18,000. But more importantly, it provides an invaluable learning experience that builds resumes and helps students land jobs.
- Attend the official Scripps Innovation Challenge Kickoff on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 5:30 p.m. in Schoonver Center, fourth floor. This fun event – free food, music, and door prizes – will tell students everything they need to know about the contest and how they can enter and help them find teammates.
Although run by the Scripps College of Communication, the competition is open to all Ohio University students, regardless of major. In its first four years, three non-Scripps teams have won the First Prize and other interdisciplinary teams have won prize money.
The Challenge is simple. Students compete to come up with innovative solutions to real world media and communication problems. Typically working in teams, they choose from a range of “challenges” and produce a creative solution, which this year is due the last day of class for fall semester. We’ve streamlined the entry so more students can fit this into their busy schedules.
Ten teams will win $500 and have a chance to become one of four finalists. The four finalists present their ideas on Pitch Day next March before a panel of industry professionals – sort of like TV’s popular “Shark Tank” show.
This year there is a $7,000 First Prize, $2,500 Second Prize and two $1,000 Honorable Mentions. Teams can win or share an additional $1,500 diversity enhancement prize for ideas that address underserved and underrepresented audiences. Several challenges come with specific incentives. For example, this year the National Resources Defense Council will fund three students on the team that best answers their challenge to travel to NYC or Washington DC and present to their board.
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