Crazy idea keeping you up at night? Are you a solver of problems with worldwide impact? Would your innovation benefit from expert mentoring? Join the Innovation Tournament
If so, grab your entrepreneurial lance and take aim at this opportunity to participate in a worldwide challenge; gain guidance from international business experts; attract elusive project funding; and publicize your greenest ideas.Knowledge@Wharton and a college in the United Arab Emirates Launch Innovation Tournament for Green Ideas in the Middle East.
The Higher Colleges of Technology, the largest higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates, and Knowledge@Wharton, the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania, are getting serious about green entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa.
Innovation Tournament 2012 aims to catalyze innovations that substantially benefit society and enhance sustainable technologies and work processes that will transform businesses. Bold, untested ideas solutions are welcome, as are implemented solutions with demonstrated outcomes, which 1) mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases, or 2) limit use of non-renewable energy sources to build a sustainable future.
Submissions concerning minor process changes need not apply.
Inspired by the book Innovation Tournaments by Wharton professors Christian Terwiesch and Karl Ulrich, the competition is also rooted in the United Arab Emirates Vision 2021 planning document, which states, “In a strong and safe union, knowledgeable and innovative Emiratis will confidently build a competitive and resilient economy. They will thrive as a cohesive society bonded to its identity, and enjoy the highest standards of living within a nurturing and sustainable environment”.
Here’s the deal. Describe a solution that addresses one or more of these sustainability problems:
1. In what ways can the deleterious effects of greenhouse gases be mitigated, through reductions in emissions, sequestration, or other means?
2. How could the consumption of non-renewable energy sources be controlled in order to provide for a sustainable future.
Participants are encouraged to explore business model changes that can reduce capital costs, and propose solutions based on “reverse innovation”: low-cost solutions from emerging economies that are applicable to developed nations. The tournament, which is open to all individuals and/or groups from around the world, has three phases:
Phase I: Submit ideas to the tournament’s website for review by a panel comprised of faculty from Wharton and the Higher Colleges of Technology, and the Knowledge@Wharton team.
Phase II: Semi-finalists will be invited to submit a web-based presentation, from which judges will select the lucky finalists.
Phase III: Finalists will participate in a round table discussion on innovation held at CERT Technology Park, Abu Dhabi UAE. The event will be filmed for release as a web video. Finalists will be interviewed for podcasts, which will be available on the Knowledge@Wharton and Higher Colleges of Technology websites. Special awards will be given to student innovators.
No cash prizes, but it’s a great opportunity to network, promote transformative ideas, attract potential investors, and influence policymakers. Full credit and recognition will be given to the creators of the winning entry.
The Wharton School is the world’s first collegiate business school, established in 1881 and based at the University of Pennsylvania. It’s ranked joint first with the London Business School in the Financial Times 2011 Global MBA Rankings. The Higher Colleges of Technology, founded in 1988, is the largest higher educational institution in the UAE, with a strong reputation for innovative learning. More than 20,000 students attend 17 modern men’s and women’s campuses in the cities of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Fujairah and the western region of Madinat Zayed and Ruwais.
Set your timers: deadline for submissions is 5pm April 5, 2012 (UAE time). Learn more in the Innovation Tournament 2021 website. Let the tournament begin.
Images from Innovation Tournament 2021
