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

PropositionThe world-wide MIT community – 120,000 alumni across 130 countries – is uniquely positioned to inform, instruct, and invest in today’s young problem solvers. The Global Challenge offers an opportunity to foster and feed those connections.

BackgroundIt 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.

MissionThe Global Challenge will contribute to real improvements in human well-being by helping MIT students and the worldwide MIT community design and pilot innovative products and services in partnership with the people who need them.

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

Features• Iterative proposal development process• Development grants for prototyping• Juried and community choice awards• Winners’ planning retreat• One year of implementation support

Inspiration• IDEAS Competition experience

Awards and implementation support since 2001• Growth of “design for development” at MIT

Courses, student groups, labs, competitions• MIT150

Celebrating 150 years of service to the world

Experience• 10 year track record

60 teams awarded $264,000 since 2001• International impact

25% of teams are international students; projects in 28 countries

• Leveraged results$3.2 million raised by teams in follow-on funding

Examples

PerfectSightDevelopers of an

innovative, mobile system for diagnosing

refractive eye conditions for under $1

using cell phones.

Year awarded: 2010 Location: Malawi

EGG-energyDevelopers of an

innovative lighting and energy leasing

franchise that aims to eliminate costly,

unhealthy, and dangerous kerosene

lanterns used around the world. Year awarded: 2009 Location: Tanzania

6Dot Braille Labeler

Developers of a portable and easy to use electronic braille labeling device that significantly increases the

ease and speed of creating braille labels by the

visually impaired.Year awarded: 2008 Location: United States

HeatSource Textiles

Developers of a novel phase change heating form that can be used

within clothing and bedding, with the purpose

of promoting comfort while reducing risks of

indoor air pollution. Year awarded: 2008 Location: Western China

Leveraged Freedom Wheel

ChairDevelopers of a rugged

wheelchair suited to the needs of the physically

impaired in the developing world, where unpaved

surfaces make road travel difficult and slow. Year awarded: 2007 Location: Tanzania

Get Involved• Invest in “invention as public service”• Volunteer to mentor a team• Review and provide feedback on proposals• Identify and define innovation challenges• Nominate yourself to be a judge• Connect us with community partners

2011 Targets• Directly engage > 400 students, ~ 80 teams• Review > 60 initial proposals• Judge > 50 final proposals• Award ~ 12 teams• Support delivery of benefits > 12 communities

Timeline• September – March

Initial proposals reviewed monthly• April

Final proposal submission and judging• May

Awards celebration• June – May

Year of implementation

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 Torres617-324-5176lhtorres@mit.edu

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