The three top winners of the campus Hult Prize social impact competition are being nominated by Syracuse University to go on to the global regionals of the $1 million competition sponsored by the Hult Foundation with the United Nations. The campus qualifying competition was hosted by the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at SU Libraries.
The three top winners of the campus Hult Prize social impact competition are being nominated by Syracuse University to go on to the global regionals of the $1 million competition sponsored by the Hult Foundation with the United Nations. The campus qualifying competition was hosted by the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at SU Libraries.
The top three teams being nominated include:
- Top place — WaxPax Solutions, Erica Morrison ’21 dual Whitman and Newhouse, Lidia Menbaeva ’21 Arts and Sciences and Daniel Hamrahi ’21 Whitman for a multi-purpose biodegradable packaging solution made from a proprietary blend of beeswax and cellulose that will help eliminate landfill waste in the food supply chain;
- Second place — Cuapa Monde Conservation, Claire Chevalier ’24 Whitman and Sasha Temerte ’23, Arts and Sciences dual in Economics and Writing & Rhetoric for a consulting firm seeking to develop universal standards for sustainable packaging, similar to the organic certification standard for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. The goal is to develop sustainable packaging certification standards and introduce them to producers and consumers of all consumer-packaged goods in the U.S. and European Union.
- Third place — Gather, Nolan Kagan ’23 Whitman for a community-building web and mobile application to bring people of various ages and cultures around the world together over cooking, sharing favorite recipes and conversation, first in the digital space and then in real life post-pandemic. The goal is to use food to bring people together, addressing social isolation, while also building cultural and social literacy among people who not might otherwise meet.
This year’s Hult challenge is Food for Good, focusing on ventures that tackle a global food-related problem and use food as a vehicle for change. Distinguished judges for the campus competition included experienced food policy and public health experts, food entrepreneurs and innovative business professionals. The global regionals will be held in spring 2021 and 15 teams around the world will then be selected to participate in a Hult Foundation summer accelerator program and to pitch at the Hult finals in fall 2021 at the United Nations.
The campus competition was coordinated by Blackstone LaunchPad Global Fellow Claire Howard ’23, who serves as the Syracuse University campus Hult Prize Ambassador.