My grandmother, an educated, articulate woman, suffered from altzheimers for almost a decade before she left our world with virtually no resemblance of the person I once knew. While I searched for the latest news on innovation, I came across XPRIZE, a competition designed to fight altzheimers through crowdsourcing. It drew me in as I thought of my grandmother, my father, me, and my children and then of the possibilities for today’s students.
XPRIZE competitions calls for experts AND NONEXPERTS alike to attack this problem. Once I started following the trail of articlese, I realized XPRIZE offers a variety of challenges. In fact, as I read more, it gave me chills. Why? Because the world is becoming FLAT. Our patience and need for immediate solutions is forcing an entirely new ecosystem for problem-solving. As Millenials become leaders, their lack of concern for hierarchy and more socialistic mindset provides opportunity from the societal pressure of immediacy.
What is XPRIZE?
Below is an excerpt copied directly from their site
An XPRIZE is a highly leveraged, incentivized prize competition that pushes the limits of what’s possible to change the world for the better.
It captures the world’s imagination and inspires others to reach for similar goals, spurring innovation and accelerating the rate of positive change.
WINNABLE BY A SMALL TEAM
Should be able to be won by teams ranging from industry experts to well-funded high school students who don’t know what they can’t do.
An All-Call to Staff and Students
The last statement…”well-funded high school students who don’t know what they can’t do”…is an all-call to our staff and students. Tackle something real and meaningful and the “well-funded” portion can be resolved. Communities and businesses will undoubtedly get behind students that are serious about solving one of the XPRIZE challenges. Students may fail but the failure represents a success as they will inevitablely learn, likely at an accelerated rate forced by competition deadlines, personal interest, and solving a big hairy audacious problem. The pursuit for students will be purposeful, targeted, and most importantly memorable.
Our students can solve challenges meaningful to them and their families as the altzheimer challenge personally resonated with me. Understanding what challenges interest students tells you about the students themselves as well. There’s a personal story attached to their interest. Learn what it is and help them change the trajectory of the future.
Push the limits of what’s possible to change the world for the better ~XPRIZE