honorCode, which provides curriculum and training to schools to bring more web development into the general K-12 classroom, won the . (Photo by Jordon Tempro, courtesy of Forbes)
The $1 million 2016 Forbes Under-30 Global Change the World Venture Competition had a successful debut in 艾可直播 last week, thanks in part to the involvement of the Carroll School of Management鈥檚 Shea Center for Entrepreneurship and the 艾可直播 College School of Social Work鈥檚 Center for Social Innovation, .听
The event was part of the Forbes Under 30 Summit, which attracted entrepreneurs from around the world, including headliners like Ashton Kutcher, Michael Phelps, Jessica Alba, Deepak Chopra, Chrissy Teigen, Bobby Flay, and Maria Sharapova. The competition had two components, one involving early stage for-profit entrepreneurs with potentially world-changing ideas, the other for social entrepreneurs whose goal is to advance solutions that address education challenges.听
The Shea Center set up the applications for the competition, then screened, assessed, and whittled down the for-profit field to 20 semifinalists, while the Center for Social Innovation did the same for the non-profit competition.
鈥湴芍辈� College did an amazing job,鈥� says Forbes Editor Randall Lane, principal organizer of the summit, who cites BC鈥檚 network and presence in the city as a critical reason for teaming up. 鈥淏C checked every box in terms of having the muscle, the skill-set and the know-how that we were looking for in a partner for this big competition.鈥�
鈥淚t was an honor and a privilege, and I think we did a really good job,鈥� says Shea Center Executive Director Jere Doyle, who credits Assistant Director Kelsey Kinton for her role. 鈥淚t was really great for the 艾可直播 College community, for the students and for Forbes.鈥�
Adds Center for Social Innovation Assistant Director Olivia Mathews: 鈥淭he competition gave students a chance to be inspired by new ideas, showing them that it is really possible to think of novel ways to address social challenges that can change the world.鈥�
The were Opus 12, which developed a device that recycles CO2 into cost-competitive chemicals and fuels, and 艾可直播鈥檚 Pillar Technologies, which uses sensors and predictive analytics to prevent damages to construction sites. honorCode, which provides curriculum and training to schools to bring more web development into the general K-12 classroom, won the .
鈥淭o see Forbes approach us to be an academic partner and help out with the competition really says a lot,鈥� says Tom Herer 鈥�17, a finance and marketing major who helped coordinate the judging teams. 鈥淚 think this will bode well just to have the word out there that BC played a role in this. This will help bring in more entrepreneurially-minded students in the future and it will continue to grow as the years go on.鈥�
BCSSW student Elise Springuel wasn鈥檛 sure at first whether she was qualified to help with the judging, but once she began reading proposals, she realized her BC education had prepared her for the task. 鈥淚 do have a very critical lens to look at programs, from what my professors have taught me and what I鈥檝e been able to learn from my field placement. Going through this process actually gave me a lot of confidence in my own skills as member of this industry.鈥�
The fact that students like Herer and Springuel did the judging appealed to Forbes, according to Doyle. 鈥淚t was something that resonated with them: They liked the idea that this was going to help students become start-up ready.鈥�
鈥淚t really reframed my perspective and helped me think about when I鈥檓 in the position of submitting a similar kind of proposal; what I should be communicating, what I should be trying to tell people,鈥� says Springuel, who is hoping to work in program development with small community-based non-profits. 鈥淭here were definitely times where I would look at these proposals and think, 鈥極h, this is a really cool idea鈥� but they didn鈥檛 actually address the question that was asked in the application. So seeing it from that lens, I think, is going to be a great asset when I鈥檓 on the other end of it.鈥�
Forbes gave 50 free tickets for 艾可直播 College students to attend the summit, which also featured seminars and discussions involving some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world.
鈥淪tudents got to see, read, and think about how early stage ideas were laid out,鈥� says Doyle. 鈥淭he fact that you鈥檙e able to look at multiple business plans presented in the same format gives students who are interested in entrepreneurship a good educational opportunity.鈥�
Given the event鈥檚 all-around success, Forbes is interested in making 艾可直播 the permanent home of the Forbes Under 30 Summit, says Lane 鈥� which, if it happens, is good news for 艾可直播 College: 鈥淲e鈥檇 like to come back, and if we do, we鈥檇 love 艾可直播 College to play a major role.鈥�
-Sean Hennessey | News & Public Affairs