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Two Rotman School Teams Reach Regional Final of the Hult Prize.

February 16, 2017

Toronto – Two teams with students from the Full Time and Evening MBA programs at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School have reached the regional finals of the Hult Prize, the world’s largest student competition for social entrepreneurs. In addition, three additional teams from the University of Toronto have also advanced.

As previously announced, a team composed of Rotman Full Time MBA students and a UofT Master of Engineering student won a UofT quarterfinal in December to advance. The team developed a substitute for firewood made from recycled coffee grounds which could be used to alleviate the fuel and firewood shortage in many refugee camps in Africa,  Team members include Matthew Frehlich, MEng’16; Lucas Siow, MBA’18; Sam Bennett, MBA’18; Lucy Yang, MBA’18, and, Gowtham Ramachandran, MBA’18,

A second team with four students from the Rotman Evening MBA program has also advanced. Nash Xu, MBA’19, Heywood Chu, MBA’19, Lulu Feng, MBA’19, and Jing Wang, MBA’19, have teamed up to develop SAVest, a rechargeable, battery-free heated vest designed for refugees who face prolonged exposure to low temperatures. The insulated vest contains compartments that hold ‘heat-packs’ made of a non-toxic agent that is similar in composition to the seasoning used in conventional salt and vinegar chips. The vest-heatpack combination delivers a long lasting heat source and allows refugees inside camps to remain mobile throughout the winter seasons.

The regional finals for the Hult Prize will be held on March 3. The challenge for this year’s competition was “Refugees - Reawakening Human Potential" and will focus on restoring the rights and dignity of people and societies who may be, or are forced into motion due to social injustices, politics, economic pressures, climate change and war. For more information on the Hult Prize, please visit www.hultprize.org.  

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 and societal 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