The Collaborative Global Student Challenge involves a feasibility analysis of a new business concept that addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Challenge is completed in two phases: a local university-based competition, followed by a global competition among the top-placing team(s) from each institution.
Since 2018, the Student Challenge has engaged 9000 STUDENTS at 39 SCHOOLS in 28 COUNTRIES, resulting in 2400 PROJECTS addressing UN Global Goals!
(See below for 2024 Challenge Numbers)
Since 2018, the Student Challenge has engaged 9000 STUDENTS at 39 SCHOOLS in 28 COUNTRIES, resulting in 2400 PROJECTS addressing UN Global Goals!
(See below for 2024 Challenge Numbers)
Upcoming Event: Global Student Challenge Awards Ceremony
Thursday, May 23, 2024, 9-9:30 AM Eastern Time
Global Student Challenge
2024 SOCIAL IMPACT PATRONS
Social Impact Patrons are donors with a shared belief in, and commitment to, the UN SDGs. By sponsoring cash prizes, Patrons hope to inspire greater participation in the Student Challenge and help equip winners to take their concept to the next level!
Ramón Mendiola Sánchez has extensive experience leading companies in the food and beverage industry. During the 1980s and 90s, he worked for local and multinational companies including Philip Morris International where he was VP for Central America and the Caribbean for Kraft Foods International. In 2003, Mendiola Sánchez assumed his current role as CEO of Costa Rican company, Florida Ice & Farm Co. (FIFCO). Mendiola Sánchez earned a Bachelor's degree from Babson College and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the U.S. He also serves on the Babson College Board of Trustees.
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2024 STUDENT CHALLENGE: BY THE NUMBERS
2024 TOTAL CHALLENGE PARTICIPATION The 2024 Student Challenge engaged 2990 Students at 28 Collaborative Member Institutions in 21 Countries, resulting in 800 Projects addressing the U.N. Global Goals.
2024 BACHELOR'S CHALLENGE
2024 MASTER’S CHALLENGE
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HISTORICAL
Since 2018, the Student Challenge has engaged 9000 Students at 39 Collaborative Member Institutions in 28 Countries, resulting in 2400 Projects addressing UN Global Goals and aiming to make the world a better place!
Since 2018, the Student Challenge has engaged 9000 Students at 39 Collaborative Member Institutions in 28 Countries, resulting in 2400 Projects addressing UN Global Goals and aiming to make the world a better place!
2024 Student Challenge
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2024 Student Challenge
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Past Student Challenge Winners
Congratulations, 2023 Student Challenge Winners!
The 2023 Student Challenge engaged 2600+ students at 25 schools in 18 countries, resulting in 730 projects addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
2023 CHALLENGE DETAILS
2023 BACHELOR'S CHALLENGE
2023 BACHELOR'S CHALLENGE PARTICIPATION:
2023 BACHELOR'S CHALLENGE WINNERS
1st Place: Strawire
Strawire aims to provide a safe environment to partygoers in nightclubs
by preventing drink spiking, through effortless drug detection.
2nd Place: Glassee's
Glassee’s uses advanced technology to empower both the visually impaired and the blind to overcome daily challenges and gain more independence.
3rd Place: BioAllpa
BioAllpa seeks to help farmers facing degraded and pesticide-contaminated soils through a biofertilizer with bioremediation properties.
- 2023 Bachelor Challenge Participation: 2163 students / 22 schools/17 countries/ 611 projects
- 30 Teams entered the Global SEMI-FINALS Round
- 10 Teams Advanced to the Global Challenge FINALS Round
2023 BACHELOR'S CHALLENGE WINNERS
1st Place: Strawire
Strawire aims to provide a safe environment to partygoers in nightclubs
by preventing drink spiking, through effortless drug detection.
- Team: Álvaro Tordera Amorós, Emmet Dunne, Nicole Dziurman
- School: EDEM Escuelas de Empresarios (Valencia, Spain)
2nd Place: Glassee's
Glassee’s uses advanced technology to empower both the visually impaired and the blind to overcome daily challenges and gain more independence.
- Team: Aliah Alenezi, Farah Alfajji, Yaqoub Almejadi, Afaf Almuraifea, Deem Alotaibi
- School: American University of the Middle East (Egaila, Kuwait)
3rd Place: BioAllpa
BioAllpa seeks to help farmers facing degraded and pesticide-contaminated soils through a biofertilizer with bioremediation properties.
- Team: Rodrigo Enrique García Cueva, Zulma Aracely Gines Campos, Amy Nicole Saavedra Saavedra
- School: Universidad de Piura (Piura, Peru)
2023 MASTER'S CHALLENGE
2023 MASTERS CHALLENGE PARTICIPATION:
2023 MASTER’S CHALLENGE WINNERS
1st Place: CapiPro
CapiPro produces protein from fish sludge from the salmon farming industry which can be used by feed companies in fish farming and can provide the pet industry a sustainable and circular protein source.
2nd Place: Drop Up
DropUp uses technology to help small and medium-scale farmers optimize the water consumption of their crops in a sustainable and user-friendly way.
- 2023 Masters Challenge Participation: 452 students/ 9 schools/ 6 countries / 119 projects
- 11 Teams entered the Global SEMI-FINALS Round
- 5 Teams Advanced to the Global Challenge FINALS Round
2023 MASTER’S CHALLENGE WINNERS
1st Place: CapiPro
CapiPro produces protein from fish sludge from the salmon farming industry which can be used by feed companies in fish farming and can provide the pet industry a sustainable and circular protein source.
- Team: Isabell Grønnslett, Ole Martin Flågan, Samson Vonen
- School: Nord University (Bodø, Norway)
2nd Place: Drop Up
DropUp uses technology to help small and medium-scale farmers optimize the water consumption of their crops in a sustainable and user-friendly way.
- Team: Roberto Cordero, Marcela Medina, Andres Quilodran, Luis Rojas, Ricardo Sepulveda, Ignacio Villouta
- School: Universidad del Desarrollo (Santiago, Chile)
2022 GLOBAL STUDENT CHALLENGE
2022 GLOBAL STUDENT CHALLENGE
In 2022, the Student Challenge engaged 1217 students from 25 Collaborative member institutions in 17 countries. They presented 356 projects that address the UN SDGs and aim to make the world a better place! Congratulations to all participants and to our 2022 winners!
View the presentations by clicking the team name below.
Bachelor's Challenge Winners1st: Miido (UDD, Chile): Nicolás Castellón and Benjamín Martínez
Miido is a real time information system about the state of the soil nutrients for farmers in Chile. 2nd: UWYTA: Upcycle What You Throw Away (USEK, Lebanon): Jad Akl and Margot Wehbe UWYTA upcycles snack bags and candy wrappers into affordable and fashionable eco-friendly products such as aprons, tote bags and more. 3rd (tie): Salvus (TBS, France): Ena Kontic and Youssef Ahmed Salaheldin Salvus is a walking map application that helps local and foreign pedestrians find the safest route to their destination. 3rd (tie): SubCleanse (Nord, Norway): Lene Øy and Markus Marchel Wahlen SubCleanse is a remotely operated underwater vehicle that cleans the seafloor under the fish cages, helping farmers control the environment and keep production sustainable. |
Master's Challenge Winners1st: Acoustic Design (NTNU, Norway): Hugo Furnes, Ingrid Dahl Nilsen and Sjur Filip Vik Haakestad
Acoustic Design wants to disrupt the sound experience by combining art with sound absorbing panels. The panels are made with eco-friendly surplus wool with great acoustical properties, helping to reduce noise and create more thriving indoor areas. 2nd (tie): INPOWER (EAE, Spain): Jimena Cordova, Iván García, Mishell Maldonado, Hildegard Melendez, Arianne Nieto and Alejandra Palao INPOWER seeks to reduce employment inequalities for people with disabilities, giving their skills and talents more visibility and empowerment in the work environment. 2nd (tie): Vassie (EAE, Spain): Martha Castro, Rodrigo de la Piedra, Luis Figueroa Luna, Fernando Mañá, Carlos Rubio and Melissa Valencia Vassie aims to transform consumption habits through a community of changemakers and conscious consumers reducing the number of to-go cups in a sustainable way. With an app, and in partnership with stores, returnable to-go cups can be picked up or dropped off in other associated stores or in stations distributed throughout the city. |
2022 CHALLENGE RECOGNITION
The Babson Collaborative Global Student Challenge is a yearlong endeavor that involves countless members of our community. Our sincere gratitude to everyone who made the 2022 Challenge a record-breaking success, including: the Student Challenge Advisors, coaches, mentors, and judges at Member Schools; Volunteer semi-finals round judges from Member Schools; Finals round judges from Babson College; Babson Collaborative Advisory Board; and of course all the students who dedicated their valuable time, energy, expertise and passion to the Challenge!
2021 GLOBAL STUDENT CHALLENGE
2021 STUDENT CHALLENGE WINNERS
2021 BACHELORS CHALLENGE
1st Place: Kellun, from UDD (Chile) Kellun provides a digital platform that connects volunteers, donors, NGOs, social initiatives and companies to generate the first ecosystem of charitable opportunities in Chile. 2nd Place: Waste Cero, from UDEP (Peru) Waste Cero creates a sustainable and transparent path from farmers to the consumer, resulting in nutritious juice from fruit that would otherwise be wasted. 3rd Place: Grash, from SolBridge Grash is a digital platform to help connect households and scrap collectors to dispose scraps efficiently and safely. |
2021 MASTERS CHALLENGE
1st Place: Woolero, from NTNU (Norway) Woolero develops stylish and 100% biodegradable packaging made of Norwegian surplus wool. 2nd Place (tie): BikeWay, from MBSC (Saudi Arabia) BikeWay is a non-invasive and all-inclusive application that contributes to mental and physical health and promotes the empowerment of women for both transport & leisure. 2nd Place (tie): Medily, from TBS (France) Medily is a digital platform for exchanges and therapeutic education, intended for people suffering from chronic diseases or disabilities, and their families. |
PREVIOUS YEARS
STUDENT CHALLENGE WINNERS FROM PAST YEARS
2020 Bachelors Challenge:
1st Place: MONDIN, TBS (France). View their presentation.
2nd Place: SUN/E-Receipts, SolBridge International School of Business (South Korea) . View their presentation.
3rd Place: CONSTERRA, Tec de Monterrey (Mexico)
2019 Bachelors Challenge:
1st Place: LobbyControl - Universidad del Desarrollo (Chile)
2nd Place: AruLearning from Universidad de Piura (Peru)
3rd Place: Kanan from Tec de Monterrey (Mexico)
2018 Bachelors Challenge:
1st Place: Beanis from Universidad del Desarrollo (Chile)
Runner-up: Griyum from Tec de Monterrey (Mexico )
Runner-up: Seacirc from Nord University (Norway)
1st Place: MONDIN, TBS (France). View their presentation.
2nd Place: SUN/E-Receipts, SolBridge International School of Business (South Korea) . View their presentation.
3rd Place: CONSTERRA, Tec de Monterrey (Mexico)
2019 Bachelors Challenge:
1st Place: LobbyControl - Universidad del Desarrollo (Chile)
2nd Place: AruLearning from Universidad de Piura (Peru)
3rd Place: Kanan from Tec de Monterrey (Mexico)
2018 Bachelors Challenge:
1st Place: Beanis from Universidad del Desarrollo (Chile)
Runner-up: Griyum from Tec de Monterrey (Mexico )
Runner-up: Seacirc from Nord University (Norway)