Deadline: May 14, 2020
Are you a young person creatively using STEM skills to make our world more sustainable? Apply for the General Motors/Ashoka Our Planet, Our Purpose: STEM for Changemaking Challenge 2020.
General Motors (GM) and Ashoka recognize young people as powerful actors in solving our planet’s most pressing sustainability challenges. They have partnered to launch Our Planet, Our Purpose: STEM for Changemaking, an online challenge for young changemakers across the U.S.
To thrive in a dynamic, ever-changing world, we need more changemakers responding to the problems around us. Leading innovators throughout history have been motivated by urgent societal issues, like climate change. Purpose and commitment are key ingredients for anyone to unlock their changemaking potential — and that includes engineers, scientists, and tech experts. By combining changemaking and STEM education, young people are driving us towards a more sustainable future.
Prizes
- Early Entry Prize: Ashoka will provide additional one-on-one support and feedback to entries submitted by April 15
- Each winning project will get to send one representative to convene in person for an all-expenses paid trip to General Motors’ Detroit, Michigan, headquarters in July for the Changemaker Summit. During this two-day immersive experience, changemakers will receive mentorship from General Motors executives and skills training from Ashoka. Each team will also receive $1,000 in seed funding.
- All winning teams will have access to ongoing mentorship and skills development webinars after the event.
- General Motors and Ashoka will also select up to five teams to be featured for additional opportunities, support, and visibility.
Eligibility
- You are a young person between the ages of 14-18 by August 1, 2020 and a resident of the United States and its territories
- You are the founder, co-founder, or hold an equivalent leadership position within the initiative your application represents
- You have at least one other person on your team
- You are committed to mobilizing more young people to join the changemaker movement and to working with changemakers to solve environmental sustainability issues
- You have been actively working on your idea for at least three months
- You are able to submit your application in English
- You are not employed, nor directly related (parents or sibling) to a General Motors (GM) or Ashoka employee
- If chosen as a winner, you commit to attending the Changemaker Summit at the GM headquarters in July 22-24, 2020
Selection Criteria
The selection committee, comprised of members of Ashoka and General Motors, will be looking for changemakers who provide strong answers to a range of questions about what your initiative does, how it runs, and your changemaking story. Entries will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Changemaker Quality: You identify as a Changemaker and are already taking steps to make a real difference by leveraging STEM for social change. You are also encouraging others to do so.
- Creativity: Whether you’re tackling a new challenge or bringing a different perspective to an existing problem, you’re doing it in a fresh and innovative way that challenges the norm.
- Commitment: You have actively been working on this project for at least three months and have made progress – e.g. you have gone through the process of customer discovery and/or have developed prototypes. You are ready to stick by your project and leave a lasting impact.
- Connection: You are focused on making a difference for the environment and can demonstrate a personal connection. You are open to connecting with others and working together to solve the problem you care about.
Application
Click “Add your idea” to submit your STEM solution for sustainability. After entering, you may view other entries, revise your own entry, and re-submit it until the deadline on May 14 at 11:59 (midnight) ET.
For more information, visit STEM for Changemaking Challenge.
