You can read more about the winners in our previous post, but we wanted to publish recently received photos of each winners with his band new Nissan Altima.

Congratulations, Andrew, Kyle and Ryan!

Andrew Saldana explains his winning idea.

Kyle Vath

Ryan Helsel

A special thank you to Downey Nissan, Falhaber Nissan, and Michael Jordan Nissan for all of your incredible customer service!

But NOW, with our latest platform update, we have saved you from getting carpal tunnel syndrome!  Users can simply register once and complete entry forms within in different brackets all one location.

Thanks Skild developers.

We can’t wait to tell you what’s next for Skild.  Curious? Keep checking back…

Our world is changing faster than ever before–technology is developing at an unprecedented rate and the world faces extraordinary challenges with solutions based in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). What is needed to prepare STEM graduate students to meet these modern day challenges? Fundamental changes are also occurring in the career options for STEM professionals. What is necessary to navigate the career pathways of the future?

The Division of Graduate Education at the National Science Foundation challenges STEM graduate students across the nation to submit innovative ideas to prepare them for tomorrow’s opportunities and challenges. Entries are solicited for ideas with the potential to improve graduate education and professional development. Ideas can be directed toward, for example, students, faculty, departments, institutions, professional societies, and/or federal agencies. Make your voice heard on STEM graduate education!

• Who: Currently enrolled STEM graduate students (see eligibility criteria below)
• What: A 1000 to 1500 word submission responding to this challenge
• Where: Register HERE
• When: Entries must be submitted by 11:59PM Pacific Time on April 15, 2013

The Innovation in Graduate Education Challenge is a Skild supported competition.

The Reed Elsevier Environmental Challenge is a Skild supported competition that will be awarded to the two projects that best demonstrate how they can provide sustainable access to safe water where it is presently at risk and/or access to improved sanitation.  Projects must have clear practical applicability, address identified need, and advance related issues such as health, education, or human rights.

There is a $50,000 prize for the first place entry and a $25,000 prize for the second place entry.

Applicants are offered access to relevant Reed Elsevier products that can help in the preparation of their submissions. The winning projects will be highlighted in the Reed Elsevier journal Water Research.

Reed Elsevier is a global provider of world-class information and tools that help our customers advance science, improve medical outcomes, enable better legal decisions, evaluate risk, forge business relationships and gain business insight.  All five business units of our company have a growing portfolio of products and services that advance environmental knowledge and understanding.  We are committed to using our extensive networks and expertise to facilitate the exchange and dissemination of useful information about improving access to sustainable water supply.

Youngsuk Chi, centre, with first prize winner Tommy Ngai and second prize winner Lindsay Stradley (2012)

The Reed Elsevier Environmental Challenge is open to individuals or organisations operating in the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors.  Projects must advance sustainable access to safe water where it is presently at risk and/or access to improved sanitation, and include the following criteria:

• Be replicable, scalable and sustainable. and set a benchmark for innovation
• Have practical applicability
• Address non-discrimination/equity of access
• Involve and impact a range of stakeholders
• Have local/community-level engagement

Find more details about applying for the 2013 competition here.

In our latest challenge, Seagram’s Gin seeks creative marketing campaign ideas that can be easily implemented in the summer of 2013.  You could win $5,000!

Do you love to throw parties or attend them?  Everyone likes a great party. What makes a party great? First, it begins with the party starter’s vision of the experience and meanders into a “fluid” execution of many details. These details are neatly wrapped up into an enjoyable and memorable experience no matter if it’s a bash or close-knit get together.

Challenge Details:
Register to receive the Challenge Question and Brief to learn about their key target audience and how you can help shape the direction of the Seagram’s Gin brand with innovative social marketing tactics.

FREE REGISTRATION STARTS : February 11, 2013

FREE REGISTRATION ENDS: March 3, 2013

On the Judging Panel:

 Frans Johansson - CEO, The Medici Group

Frans Johansson is an author, entrepreneur, and innovation thought leader who has spoken to audiences worldwide, from Fortune 500 companies to rural villages. He leads The Medici Group with the same passion, force, and energy he exhibits in his keynotes. He founded The Medici Group to move beyond simply inspiring through his talks, and instead work hands on with clients to deliver strategic options, fast.

His debut, The Medici Effect, was an international bestseller that shattered assumptions about how great ideas happen. His follow up book, The Click Moment, obliterates the idea that in business you can plan, strategize, and analyze your way to success.

Frans has been featured on CNN’s AC360, ABC’s Early Morning Show, and CNBC’s The Business of Innovation series.

Raised in Sweden by his African-American/Cherokee mother and Swedish father, Frans has lived all his life at The Intersection™. Prior to The Medici Group, he founded a software company, a healthcare firm, and a hedge fund. He has written articles on healthcare, information technology, and the science of sport fishing. Frans earned his B.S. in Environmental Science from Brown University and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Follow Frans on Twitter at @Frans_Johansson

 Maneesh K. Goyal - President & Founder, MKG

From a Masters in Public Health from Yale, to P. Diddy’s event planner, to a trusted agency partner of some of the world’s biggest brands, Maneesh K. Goyal’s biography is anything but ordinary. After moving to NYC in 1999, things took a turn after 9/11, when he realized he wanted to break down the barriers between ‘work’ and ‘life,’ He left his job in non-profits and began working in event production where he could utilize his skill and love of bringing people together.  Once he started following his passion, things began to fall into place. It wasn’t long until he was discovered at an event by P. Diddy and before he knew it, was appearing on MTV as the go-to celebrity party planner.

Maneesh recognized the connection early on between celebrity personalities, events and brands, and saw an opportunity to build a marketing agency centered around connecting consumers to brands.  The result is MKG, the eponymous agency Maneesh started 10 years ago that now works closely wi including Delta Air Lines, Evian, Google, Viacom and Estee Lauder, among others. MKG is headquartered in New York with a Los Angeles outpost that opened in 2011. The agency has grown significantly from one employee, Goyal, to a thriving 50-person operation.

Maneesh is also a board member of the Empire State Pride Agenda, sits on the Advisory Council of the American India Foundation and served as an Obama Victory Trustee for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. Earlier this year Maneesh launched Live in the Grey, a passion project centered on the philosophy born out of Maneesh’s own journey of blending professional and personal interests into a fulfilling career. The centerpiece of Live in the Grey is a website with original and curated content meant to inspire viewers to find success and happiness by building a career doing what they love.

 Malik Yoba – Actor

Best known for his roles in  the Disney classic, Cool Runnings, and the hit Fox television series New York Undercover, Malik Yoba has proven himself as a man driven to raise consciousness through the use of his many talents. As an actor, musician, activist, educator, inspirational speaker, playwright, entrepreneur and author, Yoba tackles his quest to educate people and communities across the world on the value of accountability, integrity and leadership with fierce humbleness.

Respected among his peers in education and community activism, by age 20, Yoba worked with 13 New York City Public schools in a program called AIDP (Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention), in which he assessed students, faculty and parents needs to improve the quality, content and form of education, thereby improving attendance which was presented to the Board of Education in a book of findings. For his dedication to youth, Yoba has been recognized by or worked with former President Bill Clinton, The Congress of the United States, The Mayor of New York City, NYPD, UNICEF, McDonald’s Black Achievers, Hale House, The Ethiopian Children’s Fund, The Conference of Black Mayors, The Congressional Black Caucus and more.

Yoba is most widely known for his love for the arts. Since 1989 he has been in over 25 films including, but not limited to Copland, Smoke, Blue in the Face, Hooked Up, Harlem Aria,Vote for Me, Ride and Dreaming in Black and White, winner of Best Film at the 2003 Phoenix Film Festival.  In 2007, he starred in Tyler Perry’s widely successful Why Did I Get Married?,and the sequel Why Did I Get Married Too?. He also wrote, directed and starred in the BET.com web series ShopTalk and recently wrapped the indie feature Recalled (2012). Yoba can be seen on SyFy’s Alphas with David Strathairn. He most recently starred in a Lifetime movie “Betty and Corretta” where he played Martin Luther King Jr opposite Angela Bassett’s “Corretta”.

His theatre company, The Malik Yoba National Theatre (MYNT) Company, creates, acquires, produces and distributes content for the urban theatre market. He has co-written two musicals for stage: “What’s on The Hearts of Men” and “Acoustic Chocolate,” both which have been adapted for screen. Yoba was also co-musical director for the Henson/ABC produced Saturday morning show the “CityKids” and wrote the theme song for the Jamaican bobsled team in the movie “Cool Runnings”. He has been a guest on Oprah, Charlie Rose, Regis and Kelly, and has performed as a musical artist at Carnegie Hall and New York’s Theatre at Madison Square Garden.

 Dimple Thakkar - CEO, Synhergy Marketing

Dimple Thakkar began her career at a social media agency in New York as the Executive Director of Promotions.  During Dimple’s time at the agency, she supervised social media marketing campaigns for top brands, influential Web 2.0 companies such as Photobucket, meebo, NING and over 50 artists including Kanye West, 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, and Britney Spears.  Additionally, Dimple worked in the talent management division within the same company as the Vice-President of New Media and Online Marketing, serving on the management team for a Grammy-nominated and global touring artist, as well as other Billboard charting rock and pop artists.

Currently, Dimple owns and operates SYNHERGY MARKETING which offers all types of online marketing, training, coaching and consulting with a focus in social media.  Within their first year of establishment, SYNHERGY MARKETING was nominated top social media agency of 2009 on Mashable.com, one of the world’s largest blogging and news websites.

In 2012, Dimple received the Power 30 Under 30 Award, an organization that recognizes young professionals that have accomplished much at a young age as well as a prestigious nomination from Empact100, who recognize and showcase the Top 100 companies in the country run by entrepreneurs, ages 30 and under, with a ceremony at the White House. The year of 2013 started with a bang when SYNHERGY won the Small Business of the Year Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, representing the 100 best in American business.

Dimple Thakkar has a BA in Communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 Joe Conte - Sr. Business Organizer, NationBuilder

A chronic explorer, he has finally found his home in LA and with NationBuilder. During his brief time with NationBuilder he has helped everyone from aspiring presidential campaigns to lean startups utilize NationBuilder’s tools to organize their way to success. Previously he has tried his hand at lobbying, campaign management, entrepreneurship, sales, the corporate world and much of what life has to offer. A networker by nature, he spends his time in the presence of friends, learning from greats such as Howard Stern and Jay-Z, and thinking of new ways a nation can change someone’s world.

a device that prevents bed sores for patients in developing countries,
a device that promotes learning while sleeping and,
a concept that reduces inappropriate use of hospital emergency room services.

Each of the winners will receive a brand new Altima.

Here’s the official press release:

Nissan Announces Winners For “Innovation Garage” Social Media Campaign

- Top honorees to receive $50,000 grants and 2013 Nissan Altimas along with promotional support and advice -

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Dec. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — A device enabling you to learn in your sleep and a low-cost system for improving health care in developing countries are steps closer to reality, thanks to Nissan. Today Nissan announced that Andrew Saldana of Downey, Calif., Ryan Helsel of Durham, N.C., and Kyle Vath of Cincinnati are the winners of the “Nissan Innovation Garage” campaign, a social media movement designed to inspire and celebrate innovation and provide funding to launch new ideas.

Earlier this fall, more than 15,000 people answered the question, “Wouldn’t It Be Cool If ____?”, by submitting their best creative ideas at NissanInnovationGarage.com. Nissan is presenting its grand prize winners, Saldana and Helsel, with $50,000 grants and 2013 Nissan Altimas in recognition of their submissions, which were chosen as the best two concepts by a panel of engineering and product development experts in collaboration with Nissan executive leadership. Ideas were evaluated according to their originality, impact and feasibility. Nissan will work with both winners to promote their ideas using Kickstarter.com, a funding platform for creative projects. The company will also award Vath a 2013 Nissan Altima for his idea, which fans selected as their favorite.

“We’ve been impressed by the great ideas that were submitted,” said Jon Brancheau, vice president, Marketing, Nissan North America. “The team at Nissan enjoyed providing a platform for these innovations to surface. We’re looking forward to seeing where they may lead. It’s inspiring to see people fired up to find ways to make the world a better place.”

Saldana’s idea, “Dreamwork,” is a device that promotes learning while sleeping. Helsel’s submission, “Low-Tech Bedsore Prevention,” is an affordable system to reduce the occurrence of bedsores for patients in developing countries. Vath’s concept, “Non-Emergency Medical Response Unit,” is intended to reduce inappropriate use of hospital emergency room services. Participants submitted nearly 33,000 ideas for innovations during the course of the six-week campaign.

Building on its ”Innovation That Excites” philosophy, Nissan’s hunt for the next great innovation was inspired by the all-new fifth generation Altima – the most innovative Altima yet – which promises to shake up the mid-size sedan segment with its interior  innovations and styling. Among the 2013 Altima’s many attributes are its best-in-segment fuel economy of 38 mpg highway (2.5-liter engine), new premium exterior styling, an upscale interior with premium materials, including NASA-inspired “zero-gravity” front seats, and an outstanding balance of ride comfort, stability and a fun-to-drive demeanor. Altima features Nissan “signature innovations” including, Easy Fill Tire Alert, which sounds the car horn when tires are being inflated to signal proper pressure, and Smart Auto Headlights, which turns on the headlights when the windshield wipers are on.

About Nissan
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan’s second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 248,000 employees globally, Nissan provided customers with more than 4.8 million vehicles in 2011, generating revenue of 9.4 trillion yen ($118.95 billion US). With a strong commitment to developing exciting and innovative products for all, Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of 64 models under the Nissan and Infiniti brands. A pioneer in zero-emission mobility, Nissan made history with the introduction of the Nissan LEAF, the first affordable, mass-market, pure-electric vehicle and winner of numerous international accolades, including the prestigious 2011-2012 Car of the Year Japan and 2011 World Car of the Year awards.

For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/.

About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan’s operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, as well as distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and was recognized as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for 2010, 2011, and 2012 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com.

If you haven’t already visited the Nissan Innovation Garage, you’d better hurry.  You have until 11:59 pm PST on Friday, October 12th to submit your idea.  You could win a new Nissan Altima and a $50,000 grant!  All you have to do is finish this sentence, “Wouldn’t it be cool if….”  Click here to see some of the ideas that have already been submitted.  Portions of this awesome competition are supported by Skild.