Toronto – Building on the success of last year’s competition, a special quarterfinal qualifying round will be held for the Hult Prize at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management for the second year in a row.
The annual competition for the Hult Prize aims to identify and launch the most compelling social business ideas—start-up enterprises that tackle grave issues faced by billions of people. Winners receive USD 1 million in seed capital, as well as mentorship and advice from the international business community. In the 2015 competition, Team Attollo, composed of MBA students and alumni from the Rotman School, reached the final. Three other Rotman teams reached the regional semi-finals. In 2014, six teams composed of Rotman and UofT students reached the regional finals.
For the quarterfinal to be held at the at the Rotman School on Saturday, December 5, participating teams must include three to four students of any UofT faculty - including undergrads, masters and PhD students. One member may be a graduate of a UofT program. Judges for the day will include Rotman alumni such as Johann Koss, EMBA’04, Founder of Right to Play and Soumak Chatterjee, MBA’ 10, Senior Manager, Chief of Staff - Financial Services Consulting at Deloitte. Other judges include entrepreneur Hamoon Ekhtiari; Joanne Kviring, Strategic Program Manager – Canada, Virgin Unite; Ted Graham, Innovation Leader, PwC; Greg Spencer, Research Associate at the Rotman School’s Martin Prosperity Institute; and Zahra Ebrahim, Founder and Principal, archiTEXT.
“It is because of ground-breaking opportunities like these that I decided to return to school,” says Jamal Khayyat, MBA’16, who is the Hult Prize Coordinator at UofT. “This is our chance to show the world that Canada's top university - and an international leader in educational research - is dedicated to impact.”
This year’s challenge is “Ending Poverty in Crowded Urban Spaces: Generating Income by Connecting People, Goods, Services, and Capital.” Specifically the call to action is: “Can we build social enterprises that double the income of 10 million people living in crowded spaces in the next 5 years by better connecting people, goods, services and capital?”
Further information and team registration is available at www.hultprizeat.com/toronto or www.facebook.com/HultatUniversityofToronto.
The Rotman School of Management is located in the heart of Canada’s commercial and cultural capital and is part of the University of Toronto, one of the world’s top 20 research universities. The Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables our graduates to tackle today’s global business challenges. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca.
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For more information:
Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
University of Toronto
Voice 416.946.3818
E-mail mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca
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