The University of Massachusetts is scheduled to host the largest student competition event in the world, the Hult Prize, on Dec. 8 for the first time in campus history. The prize aims to develop business plans to solve a prevalent issue plaguing the modern world for a grand prize of $1 million in start-up funding.
“It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity to really make an actual difference in the world,” said Gina Semensi, a senior double majoring in business management and nutrition. Semensi is responsible for bringing the Hult Prize to UMass this year and is leading the initiative on campus.
“I took that upon myself. I’m always looking for new opportunities to bring entrepreneurship to UMass,” she said.
For the purposes of the competition, any and all students are encouraged to group together into teams of three or four, develop a sustainable business plan to solve the designated issue and present it before a panel of judges.
“It’s similar to Shark Tank, but the difference is with Hult Prize there’s an actual challenge each year,” Semensi said, referencing ABC’s reality TV show about competing entrepreneurs.
This year’s challenge is centered around improving the lives of those living in crowded urban spaces. According to the Hult Prize’s website, “Participants will look for ways to leverage connectivity to make life for the dwellers of these spaces better. Focus will be placed on doubling income through specifically better connecting the residents of these spaces to products, people, services and capital.”
The winners at the UMass competition will travel to the regional finals, held in Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai and Shanghai. From there, winners will advance to the global finals in New York where the finalist group will be awarded the $1 million prize by Hult Prize key partner and former President Bill Clinton.
As the date of the competition approaches, Semensi is searching for necessary funding support from school faculty. Funds are needed to cover the event expenses as well as go towards a smaller monetary prize specifically for the winners on the UMass campus.
An information session, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 29 and Nov. 5, as well as a “Million Dollar Workshop” on Nov. 19 for teams to perfect their pitches, will precede the actual competition, held on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.
The Hult Prize was founded in 2009 by Ahmad Ashkar, a Hult International Business School alumnus. In 2012 the Clinton Global Initiative joined with the competition, and Clinton is now personally responsible for selecting the challenge subject each year.
Semensi applied for the competition to be held at UMass in mid-September, saying, “I just looked it up and saw that … you could bring (Hult Prize) to your school if you wanted to. I applied for it, I interviewed with someone who was in London through a Skype call, and two weeks later I found out it was able to come to UMass.”
Stefan Geller can be reached at [email protected].
