SAN DIEGO, May 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The University of San Diego (USD) will host the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge (FGSIC), an international competition, which, this year, has been designated a World Design Capital 2024 Legacy Program. World Design Capital 2024 is a binational program that showcases the San Diego–Tijuana region as a global hub for design, innovation, arts, and culture. This weekend, more than 45 student teams from colleges and universities around the world will converge on USD’s campus, where they’ll pitch innovative business ventures, with the chance to win part of $100,000 in funding and in-kind services. The students will present their ideas to business leaders, including the competition’s namesake and visionary San Diego philanthropist, Ron Fowler, before the top eight finalists present in front of an audience on May 4.

Each team is tasked with coming up with ideas that address social and environmental challenges, guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Those values are at the heart of USD’s mission as a Ladauto Si’ university – geared toward caring for our common home – and they also align with the principles of World Design Capital 2024.

USD has two teams competing:

• Buni.Ai – A business using artificial intelligence to connect tech companies with skilled workers in Africa, in hopes of boosting economic opportunities for women and young workers.
• JuniorJobHunt – A platform connecting young workers to gig-economy jobs, aimed at providing flexible work options for people in the U.S. who are looking to balance academics with a desire to work.

Ideas like these reflect a growing trend among companies and young entrepreneurs in what’s described as a “purpose-driven economy,” said Andrew Biros, EdD, who’s organizing the FGSIC.

“We will not have the social and environmental innovations our society desperately needs, unless we invest in social innovators,” Biros said. “USD has been a trailblazer toward this aim, with an ethos of innovation and entrepreneurship where ideas are discussed openly among a vibrant intellectual community. The FGSIC is a fundamental example of how higher education institutions can collaborate and catalyze solutions our world deserves.”

The FGSIC is organized in partnership between the University of San Diego and the University of St. Thomas. It started in 2011 with USD students and expanded into a global pitch contest in 2018. The FGSIC has connected more than 3,000 students and more than $700,000 has been distributed to seed the most innovative ventures.

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SOURCE University of San Diego