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Foothill Innovation Challenge

Accept The 2025 Foothill Innovation Challenge and Make A Difference!

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Innovative Ideas With Social Impact

This spring the 2025 Foothill Innovation Challenge invites students to bring their ingenuity, entrepreneurial mindset, passion and innovative thinking to identify problems that face communities in need, and to develop sustainable business ideas that will solve those problems and positively impact the community. 

Focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education

Every year, our challenge emphasizes a specific social issue for students to center their innovative projects on. This year, we're concentrating on tackling AI and Education. Imagine developing an AI tool that transforms education by personalizing learning, making it more accessible and inclusive. From adaptive platforms to AI tutoring, AI has endless potential to empower learners, close educational gaps, and promote equity. While we encourage solutions in this field, all socially impactful ideas addressing pressing issues are welcome. Feel free to submit any idea you're passionate about—the Challenge is open to all creative concepts.

group of students working together

Components of The Challenge

The Foothill Innovation Challenge will consist of six workshops and two rounds of competition, all designed to help you learn how to grow your idea. All students and ideas are welcome.

Sign Up for the Challenge

6 Workshops

Participation in the workshops is not mandatory to compete in the competition rounds, but is highly encouraged!

Questions? Please email Angie Dupree at dupreeangelica@foothill.edu or Michelle Wu at wumichelle@fhda.edu.

 

INSPIRE: Wednesday, April 23, 3:30-5 p.m in Toyon Room (2020) 

Be inspired to join the challenge! You’ll hear student success stories from past years and receive detailed instructions about the event series and the competition.

IDEA TEAM FORMING: Wednesday, April 30, 3:30-4:30 p.m. in Toyon Room (2020) 

Join us for a dynamic team-making workshop designed to help you find an ideal team or build your own team from scratch. You’ll learn how to leverage the diverse skills and perspectives of your team members to produce unique and effective solutions to complex challenges.

DESIGN: Wednesday, May 7, 3:30-5 p.m. in Toyon Room (2020) 

Speaker: TBD

Attend a workshop on Design Thinking, a leading methodology for solving problems, and designing sustainable business solutions, through creativity and a human-centered approach.

BUILD: Wednesday, May 14, 3:30-5 p.m in Toyon Room (2020) 

Speaker: TBD

Learn how to build cool, useful, and create prototypes using cardboard. In this hands-on interactive session, you learn the tips and tricks to building and working with cardboard. Save those Amazon boxes.

PITCH:
Thursday, May 15, 3:30-5 p.m. in  Room 4006

Speaker: TBD

Get exposed to the art of the “Elevator Pitch”, and learn the fundamental components of how to communicate your idea to an audience in a persuasive and concise manner

PREPARE: Wednesday, May 21, 3:30-5 p.m in Toyon Room (2020) 

With Angie Dupree: (Foothill College, Economics Faculty and Michelle Wu, Foothill College, Business and STEM Faculty)

Improve your presentation skills, making it easier to pitch your ideas for challenges. This practice can help communicate your ideas effectively to judges. By attending the practice session, you'll be better prepared to showcase the value of your innovations and convince others to get on board.

Save the Competition Dates!

Present your innovative ideas, both for-profit and nonprofit, that address social issues. 

Sunday, May 11 • 11:59 p.m. • Register Online

REGISTRATION ROUND: Sign up to participate in The Challenge. Share your idea in a few sentences, outlining its main features and potential impact. All student teams that sign up can participate in The Challenge!

Sign up by the Early Bird Date of Friday, May 2, 11:59 p.m. to get special access to mentors and extra support. Further details can be found on The Foothill Innovation Challenge Canvas Shell.

Thursday, May 29 • Noon–5 p.m. • Dining Hall


CHALLENGE ROUND: Share your ideas in a poster board session. From there, six teams will be selected to present their ideas live "Shark Tank style" in front of a panel of distinguished judges.

Foothill Innovation Challenge Awards

money bag

Winners will receive cash prizes to fund your projects or continuing education!

  • First Place $1500
  • Second Place $700
  • Third Place $300

All participants will receive digital badges of participation for your digital portfolios.

Who Can Participate?

Students from all majors are encouraged to participate. All you need is passion to improve your community, a desire to solve problems, and interest in learning how to develop business ideas. Training will be offered to interested students on how to approach the Challenge, and will expose students to the needed skills to succeed!

What Support Will I Get?

A series of workshops will be offered during the Spring quarter to expose you to the requisite skills to develop ideas from conceptual sparks in your brain into real solutions that make a difference!

Learn how to design your solution, how to build a proof-of-concept of your solution, and how to pitch your solution in these workshops conducted by industry leaders! Check out the details in the workshop schedule above.

Why Should I Join?

Students who participate in The Foothill Innovation Challenge will learn important skills, such as how to develop a business concept, how to communicate to an audience, as well as how to think critically and innovatively. 

Most importantly, students will work collaboratively towards making a positive difference in your community!

How Do I Get Started?

If you are interested in joining the competition, please head to The Foothill Innovation Challenge Canvas Shell where you will receive important information about what to do next.

Testimonials from Past Participants

Meet LiaCompeting in BIC was incredibly beneficial for an aspiring entrepreneur; it allowed me to dive deeper into a topic I was passionate about, build out a business plan and get real-time feedback and validation, and learn from like-minded peers, investors, and other industry experts.

Lia Fernandez—Foothill College, 2nd Year, 1st Place Winner 2022 Business Innovation Challenge

Read all Testimonials

We invite you to accept the Challenge! You'll be glad you did!


Join The Community

Use these links to join the Foothill Innovation Challenge community!

Canvas Shell

The Foothill Innovation Challenge Canvas Shell is the primary collaboration space for our innovators. Join this space to participate in The Foothill Innovation Challenge.

Discord Server

Join our Business & Entrepreneurship Club BEC Discord to connect with other student innovators to form teams, get ideas, and have discussions to improve your innovations.

Instagram

Follow us on our BEC Instagram for real-time updates on our events and access to fun and educational content.

Join the Challenge Rounds

Thursday, May 29 • Noon-5 p.m. • Dining Hall

The competitive portion of the Foothill Innovation Challenge will consist of two rounds on May 29.

DATE & TIME DESCRIPTION

ROUND 1

Teams will share their ideas in a poster board session.

ROUND 2

In a Shark Tank style session, six selected top teams from Round 1 will present their ideas live in front of a panel of distinguished judges.

Sponsored by the Business & Entrepreneurship Club, the Women in Business Club, the Business & Social Sciences Division, and Workforce Development.

Sign Up for Updates
BIC Logo - Owl Lightbulb

Questions?
Please Contact Us!

Angie Dupree, Foothill Innovation Challenge Co-Coordinator and Economics Faculty

408.750.7718


dupreeangelica@foothill.edu


BIC Logo - Owl Lightbulb

Questions?
Please Contact Us!

Michelle Wu, Foothill Innovation Challenge Co-Coordinator Business and STEM Faculty

650.814.9037


wumichelle@fhda.edu


 

 

 

 

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