Global Impact Challenges

Global Impact Challenges (GICs) are annual incentive competitions held in partnership with sponsor organizations worldwide and organized by geography and theme. These challenges are an open call to entrepreneurs, technologists and scientists with the most innovative ideas for moonshot innovations and startups that can positively impact a billion people in 10 years.

You’re an ideal candidate if you:

• Are an experienced entrepreneur who has already turned over at least one successful company, and are ready to do it again in the impact space 
• Are a technical or problem space expert who is eager to build a company alongside a seasoned entrepreneur
• Are an accomplished technologist, scientist, or change agent and are recognized as a thought leader in your chosen field(s)
• Have a background in or a passion for addressing climate change
• Have an innovative solution to an urgent global challenge—ideally, but not limited to, climate change—that leverages exponential technologies and can positively impact a billion people within 10 years 

For information on open challenges, you can sign up to receive updates on new GICs as they’re announced.

The schedule varies from one challenge to another. For more information, please consult the individual challenge listings above.

Applicants:

• Must be at least 21 years of age
• Must speak fluent English

For specific eligibility requirements, see the individual challenge pages.

No, ideas do not have to be at a certain stage to be submitted.

Intellectual property resulting from a GIC belongs to the applicant(s).

The selection process has two to three phases, depending on the challenge. The first phase involves a review of all applications to determine 5-10 finalists, and the second phase involves final judging to select the winner—this is either done remotely via video call, or at a pitch event.

• Degree of solution's relevance to the theme of the challenge
• Feasibility, viability and coherence of implementing the idea
• Entrepreneurial and innovative potential, with a focus on technological novelty
• Applicant’s leadership experience, profile, potential, and achievements

Note: Selection criteria may vary from one challenge to another.

If the challenge winner is part of an existing team—the team is not eligible—only the individual who applied would come to SU.

GIC winners are responsible for their own travel expenses to/from SU.

GIC winners are responsible for obtaining any necessary visas required for their attendance for SU programs. Most of our non-US passport holding participants have attended on a ESTA waiver program, tourist visa, or a B-1 or B-2 business visa. Despite having “University” in its name, SU is not an accredited, degree-granting institution and therefore does not sponsor student visas. 

In the rare case where a GIC winner is denied a visa, the winner forfeits his or her winning seat to the GIC first runner-up and would have to then reapply for admission in a future year.