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Hult Prize at KU’s call to action this year: To create job opportunities for 2,000 people

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'This year, Hult Prize asks teams around the world to create meaningful work opportunities with goal to improve outcomes for 2,000 people by 2024 while meeting SDGs, creating positive impact on environment, society'

KATHMANDU: Hult Prize at Kathmandu University has been officially resumed from December 2021 as instructed by Hult Prize Foundation. Hult Prize is the world’s largest youth social entrepreneurship challenge and crowd-sourcing platform that challenges young students to solve the world’s toughest issues by empowering them to do good and make life better for millions of people through the creation of for-good social enterprises. It is also known as the Nobel Prize for the student. With a glorious history of starting the Hult Prize Challenge in Nepal for the first time back in 2016, every year Hult Prize at Kathmandu University has transformed university students all over Nepal into budding entrepreneurs with business concepts, learning opportunities, multi-disciplinary networking, and a focused pathway to changing the world. Hult Prize at Kathmandu University is an “OnCampus Program” which is the Quarter Final Rounds of the annual $1,000,000 Hult Prize Challenge open for the students of all the campuses of Kathmandu University. The winners of this event will be fast-tracked to compete at one of the 25+ Hult Prize Regional Finals happening around the world, bypassing the general application round which annually receives over 20,000 applicants from more than 350 colleges and universities in over 150 countries. [gallery link="file" columns="1" size="full" ids="19360"] Students studying at any affiliated campus of Kathmandu University are eligible to compete in the event where they will be required to pitch their start-up ideas in front of a panel of judges to earn their spot at the regional finals. "Every year Hult Prize at Kathmandu University has transformed University students into budding entrepreneurs with business concepts, learning opportunities, multi-disciplinary networking, and a focused pathway to changing the world," according to Rohan M Shrestha, Campus Director. Each year, a burning global problem is selected by President Bill Clinton and a challenge is issued. Teams of three to four students are challenged to develop a disruptive start-up enterprise to eradicate the problem. This year’s Call to action is “Getting the World Back to Work”. This year, the Hult Prize is asking teams around the world to create meaningful work opportunities with a goal to improve outcomes for 2000 people by 2024 while meeting the sustainable development goals and creating a positive impact on the environment or society. As of January 2021, job losses stood at 255 million, while upwards of 1.6 billion informal economy workers have also been significantly affected. Likewise, those living in developing countries and fragile contexts face the most dramatic risks or have the least resilience, according to UN's Policy Brief: The World of Work & Covid-19. The competition will take place in two stages: The first stage — Pre-Event — will take place as a semifinal of the OnCampus Program. Teams from different schools and colleges of Kathmandu University will be divided into groups. Three teams from each group will advance to the final main event. Finally, about 12 teams will compete in the final pitching of the OnCampus Program. The 12 teams advancing to the main event will receive extra mentorship and training to enhance and sharpen their presentation skills and enterprise ideas. The main event finals, which will take place in Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel will select three teams eligible to compete in the Hult Prize Regionals around the globe. With a $1,000,000 global startup prize as its anchor activity, the Hult Prize has brought impact focused programmes, events, and training to over a million students globally, creating a pathway for youth everywhere to take action to build a better world. The Hult Prize Foundation transforms how young people envision their own possibilities as leaders of change in the world around them. The Hult Prize continues to be a disruptive global leader in social entrepreneurship and youth empowerment for the 21st century. Each year, tens of thousands of college and university students from more than 100 countries participate, and since its inception, participants have represented more than 2,000 institutions of higher education.

How does it work? Phase 1: OnCampus Program The participants work with a team of three or four students to create a business that responds to this year’s Call to Action, then pitches it to a panel of judges who choose the winners from their campus. The OnCampus Program is led by a Campus Director, who is a student at your university. Campus Directors and their Organising Committees support the team to create a business and prepare to pitch it at the OnCampus Program.

Phase 2: Regional Summits The winner of the OnCampus Program or those selected through the General Application are invited to a Regional Summit. Here, the selected one or his/her team competes against other students from the same region and the business is pitched to a panel of regional judges. With over a dozen virtual Regional Summits, you will meet a diverse new group of student entrepreneurs and mentors and receive resources that will help improve your team’s business.

Phase 3: Global Accelerator The winner of the Regional Summit is invited to the Global Accelerator. With access to business experts, Hult Prize staff, and fellow entrepreneurs, at the Global Accelerator the participants are provided with the tools to continue turning the business into a reality as well as the confidence and network to be a life-long social entrepreneur. At the end of the accelerator, the participants pitch to a panel of judges who decide which teams would present their business at the Global Finals.

Phase 4: Global Finals Getting to the Global Finals means the team has risen above thousands of other students and have dedicated almost a year of life to this journey. The participating teams pitch to a panel of extraordinary judges for the chance to receive funding from the Hult Prize Foundation which allows the team to take the business to the next level and set up on a path to change the world. READ ALSO: