The Hult Prize Foundation recently announced that two Boise State University teams have advanced to the regional finals of the fifth annual Hult Prize. The Hult Prize is the world’s largest student competition and start-up platform for social good aimed at solving the planet’s most pressing challenges. Student teams compete in six cities around the world for a chance to secure $1 million in start-up funding to launch a sustainable social venture.
Selected teams were chosen from more than 10,000 applications received from over 350 colleges and universities in over 150 countries. The Hult Prize regional competitions will take place on March 7 and 8, 2014 in Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai, Shanghai and Sao Paulo. Boise State University will compete in London and Dubai.
Students going to regional finals in London, are Scott Blades, Boise, Idaho; Hannah Derrick, West Jordan, Utah; Chandler Koch, Flour Mound, Texas; Kyle Mulder, Canton, South Dakota; and Remington Turner, Boise, Idaho. Regionals in Dubai will be attended by Ken Mazur, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Chris Armstrong, Boise, Idaho; Craig Dunbar, Cincinnati, Ohio; Lindsey Hearst, Meridian, Idaho; and Kelsey Toy, McCall, Idaho. All team members are full-time students in Boise State’s Career Start MBA program.
“It is an honor to be a part of a great Boise State COBE team and have the unique opportunity to solve a world problem,” says Kyle Mulder.
The Hult Prize challenge this year is to find a way to help the 250 million people living in global urban slums who suffer from non-transmissible chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
Scott Blades, a seasoned Hult Prize competitor, invites community participation. “It would be great to hear from anyone with ideas or experience with medical solutions to chronic disease. Our team believes in harnessing the power of our knowledgeable community and industry members. Crowdsourcing ideas is a highly valuable tool and we would love the help. Contact me directly – scottblades@u.boisestate.edu.”
Following the regional finals, one winning team from each host city will move into a summer business incubator and the final round of competition will be in September.
To learn more, visit www.hultprize.org.