Posted: Friday, October 14, 2016

The Institute for Global Enterprise at the University of Evansville will kick off the second wave of the Changemaker Challenge competitions during Social Innovation Week October 17-21. Events during this week are designed to inspire innovation and entrepreneurship that create positive social change.

Professor Scott Sherman, founder and director of the award-winning Transformative Action Institute, will speak at the launch events. He will assist with launching the 2017 Collegiate and High School Changemaker Challenge competitions by guiding students while inspiring creativity and encouraging new approaches to address challenges in the community.

UE will host two Changemaker Challenge competitions, planned for February 2017, for young people to propose innovative solutions to pressing challenges in our community and beyond. The collegiate competition will provide a chance for UE students to pitch their ideas and compete for seed funding to help make their ideas a reality. The high school event will be open to area high schools and students will compete for four-year full-tuition scholarships to attend UE.

Sherman’s social innovation curriculum has been taught at more than 30 universities across the world including Yale, Princeton, Cornell, New York University, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, and UC Berkeley. Both Echoing Green and Ashoka University have recognized the Transformative Action Institute as a key innovator in social entrepreneurship education. Sherman has worked on nonviolence and social justice projects from war-torn Sri Lanka to America’s inner cities

Events planned for UE’s Social Innovation Week include:

Monday, October 17

4:00-5:30 p.m. (Room 162), Schroeder School of Business Building

Collegiate Changemaker Challenge Kickoff and Info Session for UE students

Scott Sherman will be speaking on “Want to Change the World? Find Out How!” Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, October 18

12:15-1:00 p.m., Harkness Hall (Room 162), Schroeder School of Business Building

Lunch meeting with Scott Sherman – “Building Greener Cities”

Those attending should bring their own lunch and beverage. Free and open to the public.

4:00-5:30 p.m., Eykamp Hall, Room 251, Ridgway University Center

High School Changemaker Challenge Kickoff and Info Session

Scott Sherman will be speaking, and students from approximately 20 local high schools will be participating. Free and open to the public.

Thursday, October 20
Noon-1:00 p.m., Carver Community Center at 400 SE 8th Street, Evansville

Carver Community Center Alternative Energy Celebration

UE students worked with Carver Community Center to obtain a $90,580 grant to install solar panels and LED bulbs, saving the Center on its energy bills. Come celebrate with these Changemakers and hear how it happened.

The Institute for Global Enterprise is supported by generous funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.

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