Launched: Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC)
Over the past eight years, Skild has powered the Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC), a vital program led by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). We’re thrilled to announce that the 2022 challenge is now open for submissions!
What is the CCIC? It’s a national competition in which community college student teams, working with a faculty or administrator mentor, use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to innovate solutions to real-world problems. They then participate in an Innovation Boot Camp and compete for cash awards.
The Boot Camp provides professional development, mentoring, and coaching designed to build strategic communication and entrepreneurial skills that help students advance their innovations in both the private and public sectors.
The event culminates in a poster session and engagement opportunity with STEM leaders and Congressional stakeholders, and a pitch presentation in front of a panel of industry and entrepreneurial professionals to determine the first-, second-, and third-place winning teams.
So, what’s next? Applicants must . . .
Identify a problem of local to global concern that they seek to address with their STEM innovation
Assess their innovation’s potential impact on society (such as on the economy, national security, global competitiveness, the environment, quality of life, etc.)
Determine the scientific and market feasibility of the innovation, identifying any challenges and ways to potentially work through them
Share ideas for how the innovation would be implemented in a real-world scenario
Up to ten finalist teams will be chosen to attend the Innovation Boot Camp in Arlington, Virginia, on June 13-16, 2022. Each team will receive full travel support.
After their presentations, winners will be announced on June 16.
To learn more about this exciting challenge, click here.
