Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC): New version of international social entrepreneurship contest for students launched
The HUC-Social Ideas Challenge initiative, promoted by the Hemispheric University Consortium (HUC), to which the Catholic University belongs along with 12 other higher education institutions in the Americas, seeks to detect the best ideas to contribute to the solution of social challenges and environmental issues in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals. UC students won the first edition of the competition.
A new version of the HUC-Social Ideas Challenge will be organized by the Hemispheric University Consortium, an alliance of universities from the American continent that make up 13 institutions, including UC. The objective of this student-oriented contest is to promote social entrepreneurship and innovation, through the identification of the best ideas that allow solving social and environmental problems within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) . It was precisely students from the Catholic University who won the first edition of the competition this year in a final held at the eMergeAmericas fair in Miami, through the development of the Reflush proposal., a device that allows gray water to be reused and filtered.
“Through programs such as the Social Ideas Challenge, we seek to establish a culture of innovation that motivates our students to stay connected with the needs of society and to be constantly thinking and practicing ways to link their knowledge and disciplines with the main challenges of the country and planet,” says Constance Fleet, associate director of the UC School of Engineering Research and Innovation Department . She comments that one of the expectations through the initiative is to resume the rhythm of project creation that had been happening before the pandemic, in order to consolidate an innovation ecosystem that also has an impact on the environment.
“Through programs such as the Social Ideas Challenge, we seek to establish a culture of innovation that motivates our students to stay connected with the needs of society” – Constance Fleet, associate director of the Research and Innovation Department of the UC School of Engineering
In this sense, the participation of students is vital, as it allows them to be part of a learning experience that is different from what is commonly given in classrooms. “The Social Ideas Challenge offers our students the opportunity to get to know different cultures and think about problem solving with a global perspective as well”, adds Constance Fleet. This is a competition that has also opened up to the UC the possibility of learning about and collaborating with other institutions on the continent, among which those that will participate in this version of the contest stand out, such as the University of Miami , the University of San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador) , the Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico) , theCayetano Heredia Peruvian University and Andrés Bello University (Chile) . “This collaboration will allow us to share experiences and complement capabilities to enhance our programs and objectives,” says Fleet.
The executive director of the Hemispheric University Consortium, Gabriela Gerón, highlights the opportunity given to students to generate ideas to solve global problems with local solutions. “Together we are preparing a new generation of social entrepreneurs who will transform our society. It is very inspiring to be part of this great initiative”, she concludes.
“Together we are preparing a new generation of social entrepreneurs who will transform our society. It is very inspiring to be part of this great initiative” – Gabriela Gerón, Executive Director of the Hemispheric University Consortium
On the other hand, Melissa Medina, president of eMerge Americas, affirms that with the contest “we are giving these opportunities to early-stage entrepreneurs, to students of the hemispheric consortium, and this is really part of our main purpose in eMerge.” In this sense, she explains the potential that can be achieved by those who exhibit at the technology fair in terms of scope and the generation of collaboration networks. “If these entrepreneurs are successful, whether they stay in Miami or not, it continues to help the ecosystem as a whole because they were here, they told their story, they potentially connected with a partner or a global brand that helped them expand in America. America or Europe or Asia, but at the end of the day it came back to that connection that happened at eMerge,” he says.
“We are giving these opportunities to early stage entrepreneurs, to students in the hemispheric consortium and this is really part of our main purpose at eMerge” – Melissa Medina, President of eMerge Americas
Stages of the competition and application
The launch event of the HUC-Social Ideas Challenge took place on Wednesday, September 28, and expert panelists on socio-environmental issues from different parts of the world participated, such as Melissa Medina, president of eMerge Americas. Felice Gorordo, CEO of eMerge Americas, Rodolfo Ulloa, co-founder of MycoBites , Magaly Blas, director of Mamas del Río , Juan Diego Vásquez, co-founder of Payphone and Susan Amat, founder of Venture Hive .
The applications of the ideas are made through the following site , between September 28 and October 31. Subsequently, each of the universities will carry out a pre-selection process for ideas, which will take place on November 4. The best initiatives will be developed through workshops that will be organized between November 7 and 11. Then, there will be a final in which the winning idea of the institution will be defined. The prize will be to participate in a second final, which will be organized at the 2023 eMerge Americas technology fair in Miami, between April 20 and 21, when the universities of the consortium will compete for first place. Likewise, the finalists will be able to participate in the activities and events of Green Awards which will also take place at the University of Miami during World Earth Week.