Announcements:
Welcome to the 2021 competition season. The Semi-Finals are now underway. Finalists will be announced on April 15. People's Choice voting opens on April 18.
Ideas to Serve (I2S) focuses on the in-depth understanding of a social/environmental issue a student is passionate about, supporting an in-depth discovery of that particular problem.
2020 brought us our first virtual Ideas to Serve competition, which gave us challenges to overcome, and innovative ideas of how to connect student submissions to our judging panel of social impact leaders. We were still able to continue our approach which provides a comprehensive approach to social innovation, encouraging students to: identify and build on the assets of the communities they want to serve; research the solution landscape to learn from both what works, and what failed (and why); take a systems approach to identify the root cause versus the symptoms of the issue; conduct customer discovery to better understand the needs of the community; to carefully consider the possible unintended consequences of any solution they might propose.
In 2021 as we continue to make our way through the pandemic, there is no shortage of evidence that environmental and social impact is needed in many of our communities. We will continue supporting and incentivizing an in-depth discovery of any particular social or environmental issue a student is passionate about. Students who are interested in understanding complex problems and/or involved in community-based grassroots efforts to address such problems but don't have an "innovation" can be part of I2S - strengthening the "serve" component of it.
We are also still thrilled to be a part of our collaboration with the Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship at the Said Business School at Oxford, where we will stay connected to global impact thought leaders. We are continuing our partnership with their Map the System Global Challenge. The top team(s) from I2S will represent Georgia Tech at Oxford and compete with teams focused on social impact from top universities around the world.
Check out this Prezi for a high-level overview of the new Ideas to Serve.
| 2021 Schedule | ||||||||||||||
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Key Competition Dates:
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| Application | ||||||||||||||
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We are moving to a virtual format for the 2021 Finals and beyond, until further notice. Here are the steps you need to follow:
Map the System Global Challenge Oxford delegate team will represent GT at the (also virtual) Global Finals in June. Application Requirements
Applications are considered for two separate Tracks:
The competition is open to any current Georgia Tech student (undergraduate and graduate) and recent alumni. Ideas to Serve judges are social sector experts. Some are social entrepreneurs, some are leaders of local nonprofits, some are impact investors, and some are academics who specialize in these areas. A list of this year’s judges will be shared with all participants before the Finals. Beyond evaluating the entries, judges are also ready to connect you to their network and to provide valuable feedback for every team. We encourage all finalists to take advantage of this opportunity, listen to the feedback, and follow-up with judges that indicated their willingness to make connections for you – these are the most valuable outcomes of participating in I2S. |
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Understanding the Impact Gaps Canvas framework: What is Systems – Thinking: Mapping Tools:
Basic Research Workshop: 5 Whys & Iceberg Models Workshop: What to Consider when Conducting Stakeholder Interviews:
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| Prizes & Sponsors | ||||||||||||||
2021 PrizesProblem Discovery Track First Place - $2,500 Second Place - $1,500 Third Place - $1,000 Other Finalists: $250 Solutions Discovery Track Winner - $2,500 Finalists - $250 Specialty Prizes People's Choice Award - $500 Best Video Award - $500 Best Stakeholder/System Map Award - $500 Scheller MBA Award - $500 Map the System Global Finalist Award - Participation to Map the System Global Finals at Oxford, England which will be Virtual this year** *Even if you were not selected to be a finalist, you could be eligible to compete for any of the specialty prizes. **Teams that want to be eligible have to fill out a separate, direct application for Map the System (guidelines included in the I2S application form). SponsorsThe Cecil B. Day Program for Business Ethics (Solution Discovery Track Awards) Center for Serve - Learn - Sustain (Problem Discovery Track Awards) Ted Munchak Chair in Entrepreneurship Steven A. Denning Technology and Management Program Center for International Business Education and Research (Map the System Sponsorship) Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business Scheller College of Business The Woodall Servant Leadership Endowment LEAD Program Innovation and Design Collaborative Mosley Ventures Speechworks PartnersThese changes to the format were developed in close partnership with Serve-Learn-Sustain, as we have worked with them over the past 1.5 years to create and launch the new SLS Innovating for Social Impact Program. The changes in approach were inspired by feedback from our expert collaborators – judges and mentors, who are practitioners in the social impact space, and who have worked with I2S teams for many years. Participation in the Ideas to Serve Competition fulfills the Final Deliverable requirement for the SLS Innovating for Social Impact Program . Our partner student organization is the Scheller MBA Net Impact Chapter. We offer a series of workshops ( described here) to help you on your problem discovery journey. We highly recommend you attend these if they fit your schedule. The workshops are provided in collaborations with our partners across campus (SLS, Design Collaborative , VentureLab) and feature guest speakers who are practitioners in the social impact space. The curriculum of the workshops was developed with the expert input of Susan Davis, Founder of Improve International and Global Coordinator at Agenda for Change |
Have questions? Reach out to .