{"id":8939,"date":"2020-03-30T15:25:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T19:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/?p=8939"},"modified":"2021-04-27T15:34:29","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T19:34:29","slug":"record-12-earlham-college-students-to-compete-for-hult-prize-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/news-events\/record-12-earlham-college-students-to-compete-for-hult-prize-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Record 12 Earlham College students to compete for Hult Prize in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A record 12 Earlham College students from three teams have been selected to compete in the regional rounds of the Hult Prize, the world\u2019s largest student social entrepreneurship competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each team will compete at different regional events in Latin American countries by showcasing novel solutions to the Hult Prize\u2019s challenge of \u201cEmpowering the Earth: Bold Businesses for a Better Planet.\u201d Six teams will emerge from the competition\u2019s regional events for a chance to win the $1 million grand prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEarlham and the Hult Prize share a common goal of creating a stronger, more sustainable planet,\u201d says Gene Hambrick, the director of Earlham\u2019s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which has been supporting the student teams. \u201cThis year\u2019s students are introducing real solutions that can help us change the way we think about the world around us\u2014 and how we can make smarter decisions as consumers. We\u2019re thrilled to support these students and their innovative thinking as they prepare for the next level of the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlham has a strong history of engagement with the Hult Prize and supports a quarterfinal competition on campus every year. In 2016, the College\u2019s second year of participation, Team Magic Bus won the $1 million grand prize for a text message-based ticketing system that has fulfilled its potential to optimize Kenya\u2019s public transportation system. That team, now a company called BuuPass, has become a top marketplace for bus, shuttle, and train bookings in east Africa. Earlham has sent two teams of students to the regionals every year since, finishing as high as second place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHarvest\u201d is this year\u2019s winning team from Earlham\u2019s quarterfinal competition on campus. They are developing an internet browser extension that collects information about the products people eat. The team \u2014 Austin Burt, Ruslan Dominic, Charles Ces and Justin DeGraff \u2014 will compete in the Monterrey, Mexico, regional on\u00a0March 27 and 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHarvest sits in the background while you go shopping and indicates if a company is using fair labor practices or is affiliated with the Rainforest Alliance or other organizations,\u201d says Austin Bart, a first-year neuroscience major from Kansas City, Mo. \u201cOur challenge as a whole is to change consumer behaviors and challenge companies to become more environmentally sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The browser extension rewards users who purchase sustainable goods and services online. \u201cWe\u2019re interested in creating incentives that people like, including discounts on streaming services like Netflix, to encourage use of our product,\u201d says Ruslan Dominic, a first-year Global Management major from Moldova.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two other teams have earned at-large bids to compete in other regional events. \u201cMy Footprint\u201d is a team that is developing an application to track an individual\u2019s carbon footprint, or the amount of carbon dioxide they emit into the environment. The resource also offers ideas and alternatives to lower a consumer\u2019s environmental impact by generating recommendations for living more sustainable lives.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Hult Prize wants us to impact over a million people and have a global positive net impact,\u201d says Nathan Mynatt, a senior Global Management major from Indianapolis. \u201cOne of the challenge\u2019s categories was changing our inner behaviors and lifestyles, and that really resonated with me and my team. Our product tracks what we do every day and offers alternative ways to reduce our impact on the environment. Being able to quantify our impact on the environment is a huge part of what we\u2019re trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mynatt is joined by team members Marc Gendreau, Jordan Christian, and Alec Bryan. They will compete in the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on\u00a0April 24 and 25.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEduWater\u201d is an app that connects wirelessly to a water censor that measures water usage, detects leaks, recommends local plumbers and offers tips to decrease water consumption.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re educating and empowering our consumers to save water,\u201d says Kyle Barbour, a senior Global Management major from Chicago. \u201cWe\u2019re showing consumers how much water they\u2019re using and how much they could be saving. We\u2019re changing lives, changing families through education by preserving water, and encouraging future generations of adults to become better consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barbour is joined by team members Aaron Crichton, Rance Albert, and Eva Lyon on the venture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They compete in the Bogota, Colombia regional on\u00a0April 24 and 25.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hult Prize is just one way that students can work in teams and develop social ventures on campus. Another, the Epic Grand Challenge, is a competition that encourages social entrepreneurship and innovative coursework across the curriculum. Similar to the Hult Prize, this event encourages interdisciplinary teams of students to work with faculty, staff and community partners to develop solutions to some of the world\u2019s most press challenges. This year\u2019s event is focused on transforming lives in Wayne County. Participating students are developing social ventures that can help to address gaps in the county\u2019s workforce, reverse downward trends in population and homeownership, or increase property values by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These competitions are one way Earlham integrates the academic major with out-of-the-classroom learning experiences, including research, study abroad, internships, and leadership development, to prepare students exceptionally well for life beyond college.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Media contact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Brian Zimmerman<\/strong>
Director of media relations
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Email: zimmebr@earlham.edu
Phone: 765.983.1256<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n