Problem background: The United Nations has outlined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as an aspirational vision for a better future for people worldwide. These goals encompass challenges related to food systems, sanitation, energy, infrastructure and much more. Each of the goals involves a variety of challenges that are ripe for entrepreneurs to solve.
Your challenge: Use entrepreneurial thinking to create a plan that could address one of the SDGs. Your proposal may interact with existing regulation and programs, but viability should not depend on new government intervention or assistance. You will pitch your plan in a five-minute presentation to a panel of judges with expertise in social enterprise at the Woltemade Big Problem Challenge competition in Spring 2025. Students may compete as individuals or teams with up to four members. The competition is open to students from all departments, and teams with students from multiple departments may benefit from an interdisciplinary understanding of their particular problem and proposed solution.
Prizes: $3,000 to the first-place team, $1,500 to the second-place team, and $750 to the third-place team. Note that these prize amounts are for the entire team, not individual team members (unless you are competing as an individual).
Criteria: Your plan will be judged in terms of:
Feasibility: Is it realistic that you could get this idea off the ground? Although you may pitch a proposal on your own, working with a well-rounded team of fellow OWU students will improve your chances of success.
Sustainability: Does you plan have the financial means to sustain itself into the future (its success should not be dependent on donations, grants, or other public funds - there is a business model)?
Adoption: Do you have a clear plan to encourage and grow public adoption of your solution?
Impact: What impact do you expect your solution to achieve, and how will you measure it?
Research: What research has the team done in development of the plan?
Examples: You can view last year's Big Problem Challenge (which was focused on water quality in Ohio) online here.