• Participation is free of charge.

• Participants must either be a Running Start Student* or have a GED/High School diploma.

• Participants must register in teams of two to five people.

• Participants must submit a project consisting of a business idea that uses technology to solve one of the selected topics within one of the three core areas: Sustainability, Equality, and Healthcare.

• We encourage participants to use hardware-related solutions with software as optional. Participants do NOT need to purchase any hardware for this challenge as it can be presented in a form of illustrations, visuals, crafts, 3D modeling, etc. Any other ideas are not listed and need approval, please contact info@wlyic.com.

• Each team has to present only one original idea. The same idea cannot be presented in one or more categories.

• The Judging Panel reserves the right to disqualify any entry.

• Workshops will be offered to participants in two lines: business and technology. These workshops will help participants understand how to properly prepare for the challenge as well as show how to evaluate both a business idea and a technology project. While these workshops are optional, participants are highly encouraged to attend as their content will be highly correlated with the criteria used by the judging panel.

• On the final day of the challenge, participants need to present a 5-minute elevator pitch.

* See Who Can Participate for additional information.

There are three core areas: sustainability, equality, and healthcare. Within these areas, there are several subcategories, each described with a series of questions. Participants may propose a solution to one of these subcategories.

Sustainability

Pollution (air/water)

How is air or water pollution defined? What contaminants need monitoring? How can they be detected? Could they be filtered? How can the effects of the contaminants on our health be understood? How can pollution be monitored?

Recycling

How can we promote recycling? How could users know of proper/improper recycling? Can something be recycled/recycled further than it is today? What resources could be used more efficiently and how? How could we measure the effectiveness of recycling?

Renewable energy & Smart energy usage

Can we use energy differently during the day (such as using outside peak-hours)? Can we use energy more efficiently? Where could we store energy? How could we do micro-generation at home? How could we promote the usage of renewables? Could we make more efficient the current lifecycle of renewable energy technology?

Wildfires

How could we further prevent them? Could we predict how they spread? Could we detect them sooner? How could we keep our communities informed about wildfires in the area to help communities get to safety?

Equality

Homelessness

How could we detect monitor homelessness? How could we help people in this situation to get access to a roof, food and opportunities to find work and a stable income?

Digital equality

How can we ensure that everybody has access to communication systems (i.e., internet, computers, phones). How can we educate those who don't know how to use the tools to improve their connectivity and access to information? How can we promote the use of technology in small community businesses to increase their competitiveness?

Access to education

What can we improve in the way that we learn STEM? How can we motivate children, teens and young people to engage in these topics? How could we simplify access to information?

Safety

How can we help people feel safe on the streets? How can we detect and prevent crime? Could we promote restorative justice? How could we improve police response?

Healthcare

COVID19

How can we help prevention of the disease? Can we help businesses that have been closed or suffered the economic downturn the most? How could we help businesses recover after the crisis is over?

Disease onset

In some cases, a disease can be present long before it is detected, reducing possible treatment options and patient prognosis (expected evolution). How can we detect these diseases early-on? Examples: Cancer, Parkinsons, Alzheimer's. This may apply to mental conditions as well, such as an autism spectrum disorder, depression, esquizofrenia, among others.

Health Literacy & Social Wellness

How can we promote healthy mental wellness in the latinx communities (unemployment for example triggers emotional health for families in COVID 19 times).

Old-age quality of life

How can we focus on elderly (digital) accessibility to access vaccinations? How can we detect when am elderly person falls or is in need of quick (medical) assistance?

Food Safety/biosecurity

How can we ensure that food is treated in a safe way? How do we know the origin of the food? How do we make sure that everybody has access to food that has been treated safely?