Hult / en łÔąĎ±¬ÁĎ teams to tackle the refugee crisis for the 2017 Hult Prize /news/u-t-teams-tackle-refugee-crisis-2017-hult-prize <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">łÔąĎ±¬ÁĎ teams to tackle the refugee crisis for the 2017 Hult Prize </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/hult%20prize.jpg?h=266da715&amp;itok=oWMfrqAU 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/hult%20prize.jpg?h=266da715&amp;itok=X4DhF_gr 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/hult%20prize.jpg?h=266da715&amp;itok=BN6dRB5T 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/hult%20prize.jpg?h=266da715&amp;itok=oWMfrqAU" alt="Photo of Nouman Ashraf"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-10-17T14:03:06-04:00" title="Monday, October 17, 2016 - 14:03" class="datetime">Mon, 10/17/2016 - 14:03</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Nouman Ashraf of the Rotman School of Management speaks at a 2017 Hult Prize kickoff event (photos by Budianto Tandjono) </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/noreen-ahmed-ullah" hreflang="en">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hult" hreflang="en">Hult</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rotman" hreflang="en">Rotman</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startup" hreflang="en">Startup</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/innovation" hreflang="en">Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Previous łÔąĎ±¬ÁĎ teams have done well in the competition </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>University of Toronto students who want to change the world are being invited to compete for the Clinton Global Initiative's 2017 Hult Prize.&nbsp;</p> <p>"The Hult Prize has students from around the world seeking the holy grail: solutions to the world's biggest social and environmental challenges using sustainable business models,” said&nbsp;<strong>Rod Lohin</strong>, executive director of the Michael Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship, located at łÔąĎ±¬ÁĎ’s Rotman School of Management.&nbsp;</p> <p>“University of Toronto students –&nbsp;from a variety of disciplines –&nbsp;have proven they can compete. Two years ago Rotman's Team Attollo made it to the finals, and last year four łÔąĎ±¬ÁĎ teams made it to the regional finals. With the benefit of those teams’ experience and even more supports for our new teams, surely more University of Toronto students will take up the quest and win."</p> <p>The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hultprize.org/">Hult Prize</a>&nbsp;is&nbsp;considered the world’s largest and most prestigious student competition for social good. At stake is US$1 million in start-up funds and invaluable mentorship from international business leaders.</p> <p>Last week,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hultprizeat.com/toronto">łÔąĎ±¬ÁĎ launched the 2017 Challenge</a>&nbsp;with an information session, hoping to attract students from multiple disciplines.&nbsp;</p> <p>This year’s Hult Prize challenge is addressing the refugee crisis, which&nbsp;has touched many Canadians personally. Between November 2015 and February 2016, the Canadian government resettled more than 25,000 Syrian refugees. Many more Syrian refugee families were relocated&nbsp;here –&nbsp;and continue to arrive&nbsp;–&nbsp;under Canada's private sponsorship program.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2246 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="500" src="/sites/default/files/hultprize-embed.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"><br> <em>Aisha Bukhari (at right with microphone), a member&nbsp;of the 2015 łÔąĎ±¬ÁĎ Hult Prize team, speaks on a panel at this year's Hult kickoff</em></p> <p><br> The Hult Prize Foundation, which runs the international competition, believes the world’s refugee population today far outnumbers the United Nation’s figure of 60 million: the foundation estimates&nbsp;the number is closer to 1 billion.</p> <p>Students are being challenged to come up with social ventures that address a range of social service categories for the refugees on a large scale. &nbsp;</p> <p>“Rather than focus on aid and charitable approaches to refugee migration, we focus this challenge on the reawakening of human potential,” says the foundation’s website. “We want to restore pride, dignity and self-worth back to those that have been impacted by social injustices, war and economic depression.”</p> <p><strong>Tina-Marie Assi</strong>, the campus director for the Hult Prize at łÔąĎ±¬ÁĎ, is a second-year MBA student at Rotman with a PhD in global health epidemiology. She believes Canadian students bring a unique perspective to the challenge this year because of the country’s refugee resettlement program.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It’s a real issue around the world, but I think Canadians are uniquely positioned to not only tap into that population but also understand the needs and to get a different perspective on the topic first-hand,” Assi said. “There’s a great opportunity.”</p> <p>At the&nbsp;information session at Rotman Oct. 11, organizers brought in speakers including alum&nbsp;<strong>Aisha Bukhari</strong>, who was a member of the runners-up Team Attollo,&nbsp;in 2015.&nbsp;</p> <p>Her team’s idea of “Talking Stickers,” a literacy tool with QR codes for objects and story books&nbsp;to help children in impoverished countries learn how to read, has generated much buzz including from UNICEF and the World Health Organization. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <h3><a href="/news/u-t-grads-finals-hult-prize-talking-stickers-boost-literacy-impoverished-children">Read more about Team Attollo in 2015</a></h3> <p>Students interested in the competition are asked to form teams of four people, preferably&nbsp;from&nbsp;a variety of backgrounds. łÔąĎ±¬ÁĎ’s nine&nbsp;<a href="http://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/accelerators/">innovation and entrepreneurship&nbsp;accelerators</a> are a potential&nbsp;source of&nbsp;mentors for the teams.</p> <p>Rotman hosts various workshops including ones on branding, pitching and on project design. łÔąĎ±¬ÁĎ will host&nbsp;the university competition on Dec. 3. Winners of that event will be&nbsp;fast-tracked to the regional competition, but other teams may still apply individually to present there.</p> <p>“At a university like ours where there is so much talent, so much innovation, we really can be coming up with those transformative ideas,” Assi said. “We’re uniquely positioned to contribute to this type of competition and to win it.”</p> <p><strong>Nouman Ashraf</strong>, an assistant professor in the teaching stream at Rotman, believes the real take-away for students is the learning that comes out of “attacking a seemingly intractable problem” like the refugee crisis.</p> <p>“The key to a successful Hult Prize submission is empathy for the lived experience of the end users to whom the solution is targeted,” he said. “Canadian students have a potentially robust and rich opportunity to engage with the many refugees who are here in dialogue that enables learning, prototyping and testing ideas for impact.”</p> <h3><a href="/news/four-u-t-teams-hult-prize-running">Read more about the 2016 Hult Prize competition</a></h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 17 Oct 2016 18:03:06 +0000 ullahnor 101429 at