In running the contest over the years, we’ve learned how to provide the support students need to turn their ideas into action. Most importantly, Big Ideas is designed as a year-long process. Through training and mentoring, students develop the skills necessary to plan, launch and manage for success. These include critical thinking, market analysis, team-building and presentation skills. Students enter the contest with creative ideas for social impact, and Big Ideas provides the resources that enable the students to make their project ideas concrete, feasible, and scalable.
Unlike traditional business plan competitions which are designed to vet for-profit companies, the ultimate goal of Big Ideas is to support students in making social change—whether through for-profit endeavors, non-profits, or small ad-hoc teams. Critically, Big Ideas promotes autonomy, initiative, and teamwork early in students’ careers, broadening their understanding of how they can use their education and interests to improve society.
By leveraging the creativity of students and the power of competition to drive innovation, Big Ideas creates lasting, positive and impactful social change—empowering a new generation of social innovators.
In running the contest over the years, we’ve learned how to provide the support students need to turn their ideas into action. Most importantly, Big Ideas is designed as a year-long process. Through training and mentoring, students develop the skills necessary to plan, launch and manage for success. These include critical thinking, market analysis, team-building and presentation skills. Students enter the contest with creative ideas for social impact, and Big Ideas provides the resources that enable the students to make their project ideas concrete, feasible, and scalable.
Unlike traditional business plan competitions which are designed to vet for-profit companies, the ultimate goal of Big Ideas is to support students in making social change—whether through for-profit endeavors, non-profits, or small ad-hoc teams. Critically, Big Ideas promotes autonomy, initiative, and teamwork early in students’ careers, broadening their understanding of how they can use their education and interests to improve society.
By leveraging the creativity of students and the power of competition to drive innovation, Big Ideas creates lasting, positive and impactful social change—empowering a new generation of social innovators.
(510) 666-9120
bigideas@berkeley.edu
Blum Center for Developing Economies
The University of California, Berkeley
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