Fifth Annual Global Innovation Challenge (WMGIC) Event Synopsis
March 30, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Fifth Annual Global Innovation Challenge (WMGIC) was hosted virtually for a second year on March 19th & 20th by William & Mary undergraduates. WMGIC V welcomed over 120 students and 50 guests from eight time zones. Thirty student teams from 15 top universities, including William & Mary, Harvard, UPenn, Georgetown, the University of Virginia, Scotland’s University of St. Andrews, and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, competed for $4,750 in cash prizes in four problem-solving streams: Governance, Social Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Business Consulting. Students presented innovative solutions tackling the core research question: “Reducing Barriers to Regulation in the Kalimantan Palm Oil Industry.” WMGIC’s 24-hours of event programming included an interactive Career & Networking Expo, Opening Ceremony with a Keynote Address by Michal Zrust of Lestari Capital, collaboration sessions with mentors from various backgrounds, presentations to professional judges, and final pitches to a high-level judging panel, including fmr. USAID Chief Innovation Officer Alexis Bonnell of Google and Goldman Sachs’ fmr. Chief Risk Officer Craig Broderick. Team BAFKIN International Associates, whose solution sought to leverage the investment and consumer base of Whole Foods & Amazon to maximize our global impact through a palm oil certification scheme, vertically-integrated supply chain, and land buy-back program, was announced as the Grand Prize Winner of WMGIC V. Winning teams are presented with the opportunity to collaborate with the WMGIC executive team and William & Mary’s Institute for Integrative Conservation in a pilot innovation-driven applied research project to expand their ideas beyond the 24-hour competition into the real world.
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About WMGIC: The Global Innovation Challenge (WMGIC) is the premier intercollegiate hack-a-thon style international and sustainable development case competition aimed at encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration to create innovative solutions to current global issues. Learn more.
Contact: Thomas Liu, Executive Director | wmgic@wm.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Fifth Annual Global Innovation Challenge (WMGIC) was hosted virtually for a second year on March 19th & 20th by William & Mary undergraduates. WMGIC V welcomed over 120 students and 50 guests from eight time zones. Thirty student teams from 15 top universities, including William & Mary, Harvard, UPenn, Georgetown, the University of Virginia, Scotland’s University of St. Andrews, and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, competed for $4,750 in cash prizes in four problem-solving streams: Governance, Social Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Business Consulting. Students presented innovative solutions tackling the core research question: “Reducing Barriers to Regulation in the Kalimantan Palm Oil Industry.” WMGIC’s 24-hours of event programming included an interactive Career & Networking Expo, Opening Ceremony with a Keynote Address by Michal Zrust of Lestari Capital, collaboration sessions with mentors from various backgrounds, presentations to professional judges, and final pitches to a high-level judging panel, including fmr. USAID Chief Innovation Officer Alexis Bonnell of Google and Goldman Sachs’ fmr. Chief Risk Officer Craig Broderick. Team BAFKIN International Associates, whose solution sought to leverage the investment and consumer base of Whole Foods & Amazon to maximize our global impact through a palm oil certification scheme, vertically-integrated supply chain, and land buy-back program, was announced as the Grand Prize Winner of WMGIC V. Winning teams are presented with the opportunity to collaborate with the WMGIC executive team and William & Mary’s Institute for Integrative Conservation in a pilot innovation-driven applied research project to expand their ideas beyond the 24-hour competition into the real world.
###
About WMGIC: The Global Innovation Challenge (WMGIC) is the premier intercollegiate hack-a-thon style international and sustainable development case competition aimed at encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration to create innovative solutions to current global issues. Learn more.
Contact: Thomas Liu, Executive Director | wmgic@wm.edu