An Introduction to IDEAS andthe MIT Global Challenge

MIT students have the ambition, the energy, and the skills to make the world a better place. MIT alumni have the experience, the connections, and the depth of understanding to help make that dream happen. The MIT Global Challenge will bring those two groups together to impact the world.

- Brian L. Hinman, EE 1984

InspirationIt is estimated that 25,800 companies founded by MIT alumni employ about 3.3 million people and generate annual world revenues of $2 trillion, producing the equivalent of the eleventh-largest economy in the world.*

Imagine if we applied that kind of entrepreneurial talent to today’s urgent humanitarian challenges.* From the 2009 Kauffman Foundation report, “Entrepreneurial Impact: The Role of MIT”

ProposalInvolve the world-wide MIT community – 120,000 alumni across 130 countries – in “invention as public service” through the design, development, and deployment of innovative technologies in partnership with the people who need them.

ApproachConnect, support, and celebrate teams of public service innovators through an annual competition that awards up to $25,000 in implementation grants to teams demonstrating the greatest innovation, feasibility, and impact.

Context• MIT150

Celebrating 150 years of service to the world• IDEAS Competition experience

Awards and implementation support since 2001

• Growth of “design for development” ecology at MITCourses, student groups, labs, competitions

Lifecycle1-3 Discovery, Design

Students learn aboutdesign challenges,teams propose solutionsand receive feedbackon their ideas.

4-5 Decide, DeployJudges nominate winners;they are announced at theawards ceremony and have ayear to implement their projects.

Awards

Experience• 10 year IDEAS track record

64 teams awarded $264,000 since 2002• Leveraged results

$3.2 million raised by teams in follow-on funding• Lasting impact

3 for-profits, 5 non-profits, 8 technology transfer initiatives(14 others moving forward)

Health, Accessibility

Education, Training

Energy, Environment

Water, Sanitation

Employment, Entrepreneurship

Agriculture, Processing

Mobiles, ICTs

Housing, Transportation

Emergency, Disaster Relief

Innovation areas

KonbitHaiti, 2010

egg-EnergyTanzania, 2009

PerfectSightIndia, 2010

A sample of worldwide projectsView more teams at http://beta-globalchallenge.mit.edu/teams/winners

28 countries

PerfectSightDeveloped an

innovative, mobile system for diagnosing

refractive eye conditions for under $1

using cell phones.http://beta-globalchallenge.mit.edu/teams/view/19

Year awarded: 2010 Location: India

Egg-energyDeveloped innovative

lighting and energy leasing franchise that aims

to eliminate costly, unhealthy, and dangerous

kerosene lanterns used around the world.

http://beta-globalchallenge.mit.edu/teams/view/2

Year awarded: 2009 Location: Tanzania

KonbitDeveloped platform to

help communities rebuild by collecting the skills of residents, allowing non-

governmental organizations to find and

employ them..http://beta-globalchallenge.mit.edu/teams/view/28

Year awarded: 2010 Location: Haiti

Growth opportunities• Campus coordination• Durable community partnerships• Impact assessment• Long-term support• Build and share knowledge• Scale up competition

Your generation wears its commitment to the greater good quite lightly. You use your skills to help repair a broken world, however, you see nothing remarkable about it; you simply expect it of each other, and of yourselves.

- President Susan Hockfield

Commencement Address to the Class of 2010

ContactLars Hasselblad Torreslhtorres@mit.edu

Kate Myttykmytty@mit.edu

On the web http://globalchallenge.mit.eduOn Twitter @mitchallenge