Each team selected was chosen from more than 4,000 applications received. Most colleges and universities had multiple team applicants with one or two teams from each school being chosen.
The 2012 Hult Global Case Challenge will focus on breaking the cycle of global poverty through developing sustainable solutions that will provide affordable housing, affordable energy, and affordable education to the bottom of the pyramid. USD 1 million in seed capital is made available annually to provide funding to pilot the very best ideas. One of the Chalmers teams will compete in the education challenge and the other in the energy challenge.
- This is a great example of how students from Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship demonstrate their capabilities within social entrepreneurship towards an international arena, said Mats Lundqvist, Programme Director and co-founder of Chalmers School Entrepreneurship.
The following Chalmers students make up the winning teams:
Team Knowel, the largest picture above, from left to right: Philip Axelsson, Sofia Reibring, Erik Vikström, Totte Münster Falck, Torbjörn Svensson and Christopher Carlander.Team Sunny Money,
the picture to the right, from left to right: Elma Delic, Dzana Damjanovic, Johan Wigelius, Anita Schjøll Brede and John Wade.
One of the teams entered the competition with the project Knowel that aims to spread vital information to families and individuals, no matter reading ability or language. In poor areas today, there are problems that actually can be solved rather easily – however the knowledge of solving them has not reached the people needing it. Their solution is a book with illustrations that are self-explanatory, allowing both children and adults to embrace the information. The intention is to spread the books where needed – globally. To finance this, the team has thought of incorporating large companies, with the desire to educate people in areas in which they are operative.
The second team is called Sunny Money and they want to transform lightning in Africa by replacing increasingly expensive fossil fuel with affordable, renewable sources of power and light. The solution is The majority of people living in rural parts of Africa do not have access to electricity and therefore paraffin/kerosene lamps, candles or fire are the only source of light when the sun goes down. The existing electricity grid only reaches 400 million of Africa’s 1 billion people, leaving 600 million without a reliable source of power. Some Kerosene lamps are built locally and produce open flames that create a significant fire risk. The smoke from these lamps stings eyes and contributes to air pollution and respiratory diseases. Fuel and batteries for light are a major drain on the household budget. A typical household in Malawi, for example, spends more than a third of its monthly income (about $ 30) on lighting and power.
- The Hult Global Case Challenge is thrilled that students from Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship has joined the initiative. This year’s competition has tripled in size, bringing together some of the most talented students to help solve world poverty which can benefit billions of people, said Stephen Hodges, President of the Hult International Business School.
The Hult GCC regional competitions will take place on February 24-25, 2012, on Hult International Business School’s five campuses in Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai and Shanghai. The students from Chalmers will compete in London where a total of 55 teams will participate.
All regional winners will be flown to New York City for the final competition, which will be held on April 26, 2012, concluding with an award ceremony at one of New York City’s most prestigious landmarks, the New York Public Library.
Every finalist will receive the opportunity to meet and have photos taken with President Bill Clinton, who will serve as the keynote speaker and present the winning team with the award.
The Hult GCC is the world’s largest and most internationally acclaimed case competition featuring thousands of students competing from over 100 countries. USD 1 million in seed capital is made available annually to provide funding to pilot the very best ideas. Hult GCC’s mission is to develop innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing social challenges and encourage breakthrough ideas from college and university students around the world.
Photo: Viktor Brunnegård
Read more about the Knowel Project >>>www.knowel.orgAbout Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship >>>entrepreneur.chalmers.seSince 1997, Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship offers a master's level education at the department of Technology management and economics, designed to develop entrepreneurial individuals prepared for business development in a knowledge economy, through an action-based pedagogy where innovation and entrepreneurship is experienced and not only taught in classrooms.
The education combines a noted academic Master's programme with real-life innovation management and venture creation of technology and bioscience innovations. In addition to the development of a more entrepreneurial mindset, the programme offers advanced reflective skill training in business design, leadership, innovation management, intellectual property and product and business development.
The programme is an integrated part of Chalmers' strategy of being an entrepreneurial university that takes responsibility for sustainable growth through innovation and entrepreneurship and was the highest ranked advanced entrepreneurship program by the Swedish government in 2009.
About Hult International Business School >>>www.hult.edu Contacts:Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship:
Viktor Brunnegård, +46 (31) 772 19 09,
viktor.brunnegard@chalmers.se:
Carolin Bachmann, +44 (798) 534-0179,
carolin.bachmann@hult.edu