A Silicon Valley think tank and business incubator Singularity University is opening an exceptional innovation competition in Finland for the third time. The 2017 SingularityU Finland Global Impact Challenge is looking for ideas that leverage advanced technologies and have the potential to impact millions of people positively.
Five of the most promising finalists get the opportunity to attend SingularityU Denmark’s 5-day bootcamp in Copenhagen in March, which brings together the finalists from Nordic countries. The winner of the Finnish competition will be chosen on March 29th in the grand final event held in Helsinki. The competition winner will receive a scholarship and a seat in Singularity University’s 10-week Global Solutions Program in summer 2017.
Singularity University’s mission is to educate, inspire and empower leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges. It was founded by futurist Ray Kurzweil and serial entrepreneur Peter Diamandis in 2009. From thousands of applicants, Global Solutions Program chooses 80 participants annually from various disciplines around the world. This is a group of top thinkers from scientists to architects, film directors, doctors and coders, and has includes several Forbes Top 30 Under 30 entrepreneurs.
“Singularity University teaches an invaluable perspective on our world’s development and empowers participants to solve the biggest challenges. You understand the incredible development exponential technologies will have in the coming years, which people are often unaware of. The intensive ten weeks give you an amazing network of friends, coworkers and mentors, and years worth of information that can be applied to anything you set out to do afterwards,” says GIC Finland 2017 organizer and GIC Finland 2015 winner Anni Laurila.
“Global Solutions Program was a truly inspiring and life-changing experience. I met amazing people with exciting life stories, studied new technologies and was even coached by a former CIA agent. During the program I realized that the world’s grand challenges can also be the world’s biggest business opportunities and that there has never been a better time to be a startup entrepreneur than now,” describes GIC Finland 2016 winner Perttu Pölönen.
For the first time, Global Solutions program will have an overarching theme: climate change. Participants are mentored by some of the world’s most well-known leaders and thinkers. In the past two years, the program has had i.e. astronaut Anousheh Ansari, Google’s Director of Research Peter Norwig, the inventor of 3D-printing Chuck Hull, entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, Google Glass inventor Tom Chi, and Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
Global Impact Challenge is open to all over 21-year-old residents and citizens of Finland. Applications will be accepted until 26.2.
Global Impact Challenge 2017 partners are:
Fazer, KAUTE Foundation and Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation
How to apply:
Additional Information:
Anni Laurila, GIC Organizer 2017, GIC Winner 2015, finland@gic.su.org
—
Fazer is an international family-owned company offering quality bakery, confectionery, biscuit and grain products as well as food and café services. Fazer operates in eight countries and exports to around 40 countries. Fazer’s mission is to create taste sensations. In 2015, Fazer Group had net sales of more than 1.5 billion euros and nearly 15,000 employees. Fazer’s operations comply with ethical principles that are based on the Group’s values and the UN Global Compact. www.fazer.fi
KAUTE Foundation supports the research, study and teaching of economics and technology. During the 2000s KAUTE Foundation has given over six million euros in scholarships. KAUTE Foundation was founded by Finnish business and engineer foundations in 1956. www.kaute.demo, www.tutkijatmaailmalle.fi
Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation invests in innovations of the Finnish technology industry. The Foundation challenges to courageous acts that create new growth and build the future of our society. It is action that counts. 100-vuotissaatio.teknologiateollisuus.fi