Our first NU Idea Challenge was held on November 4, 2020 at the NU Idea Center.
The purpose of the Idea Challenge was to encourage students to combine their business knowledge with creativity and innovation while solving a complex problem. Participating students attended an hour long workshop prior to the competition facilitated by Professor James Hop, Professor John Gustincic, NU Idea Center Director, and Sarah Parker, NU Idea Center student manager.
Following this workshop, students were presented with a list of five current problems. Students chose a problem and then spent the next 30 minutes creating a business model that solved this problem. At the conclusion of this business model preparation time, students had just three minutes to present their ideas to a panel of three faculty members (Professor Alisha Beckrow, Professor James Hop and Professor John Gustincic). In total, 16 Northwood University students participated in the competition.
Winning third place was Jessica Bromberg. Jessica chose a problem that asked students to come up with ideas to reduce homelessness in Detroit.
Winning second place was the team of Kate Wozniak and Molly Dickinson. Kate and Molly chose a problem that asked students to devise strategies that would make public transportation both safe and viable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Winning first place was Brendon Krimmel. Brendon also chose a problem that asked students to come up with ideas to reduce homelessness in Detroit.
