Colorado State University’s Institute for Entrepreneurship is partnering with Project X-ITE/University of Denver to sponsor the 2017 DisCOver Challenge. The Challenge asks undergraduate and graduate students from across campus to create innovative solutions to a real-world problem facing a leading Fortune 500 company. Student teams apply to participate in the Challenge, then the selected teams will attend a Bootcamp hosted by the sponsoring Fortune 500 company to learn Design Thinking skills and receive the official Challenge Statement. Teams will then spend the next four weeks using these skills to create an innovative solution to the Challenge Statement that they will present to judges at a final competition.
CSU student teams will compete against teams from other Colorado universities for a chance at CSU glory and one of three cash prizes: $10,000 for first place, $7500 for second, and $2500 for third.
How to Apply
Students must apply to participate as a team of 3-6 people. If interested students do not have a team, CSU’s Institute for Entrepreneurship can help connect students to form teams. All undergraduate and graduate students from all of CSU’s colleges are eligible to apply. The application should include the following items and can be accessed here at this website.
- A video (no longer than 3 minutes) to introduce the team
- Explain why the team should participate
- The video should address the following:
- How a company’s business strategy has changed due to the evolution and increased use of technology
- How this benefits the company in the way it addresses customer needs
Applications will be accepted from now through Jan. 22 at 11:59 PM.
Information sessions Dec. 6
Two team formation sessions, which will include a short informational overview, will be held at 11 a.m. and noon on Dec. 6 in the Lory Student Center, Room 322. The focus of the sessions will be to introduce interested students to each other in order to form teams for the Challenge.
Schedule
Kick-Off Boot Camp | February 4, 2017
The official kick-off to the 4-week challenge will be Feb. 4 with a one-day Design Thinking Workshop and the unveiling of the formal challenge statement. Participation is required by selected student teams.
Finals | March 3 – 4, 2017
Student teams will present their solution in front of a panel of judges and find out who wins the cash prizes.
Connect
Like the DisCOver Challenge Facebook: www.facebook.com/disCOverChallenge
Like the CSU Institute for Entrepreneurship Facebook: www.facebook.com/CSUInstituteForEntrepreneurship
For more information or help finding a team contact Renee Badertscher @ Renee.Badertscher@colostate.edu
