Shining ideas
Registration now open for Diamond Challenge for High School Entrepreneurs
7:58 a.m., Sept. 2, 2014--The University of Delaware’s Horn Program in Entrepreneurship has announced the Diamond Challenge for High School Entrepreneurs, a real world business concept competition designed to offer high school students the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship while developing their creative, analytical and communication skills.
Registration for 2015 is now open and will continue through November. Additional information can be found on the Diamond Challenge website and Facebook page.
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This year’s Diamond Challenge will be held at preliminary round sites spanning Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as four international locations, including Kenya, Tunisia, Moldova and Georgia. The top teams will advance to the final round, which will be held at the UD campus in May.
High school students work together in teams of two to four students to conceive of new concepts for businesses or social enterprises. The Diamond Challenge is supported by an online video curriculum, which helps participants prepare and submit written concepts before pitching their ideas to a panel of seasoned entrepreneurs and business leaders.
In its third year, the Diamond Challenge has expanded to offer a Youth Entrepreneurship Summit (YES!) in conjunction with the final round of the competition, where students and educators throughout the region are invited to participate in skill-building workshops and an overall celebratory event around entrepreneurship and innovation.
Another new feature will be an online voting component for the social impact track. Student teams will be able to nominate their social enterprise for a $2,500 award.
“Entrepreneurial education plays an important role in developing a workforce that is prepared to thrive in a rapidly changing world,” said Dan Freeman, director of the Horn Program. “Due to the hands-on, experiential nature of the curriculum and the competition, participants will also gain valuable skills and connections.”
A broad coalition of partners including Delaware Technical Community College, Junior Achievement of Delaware, Delaware’s Department of Education, Anne Arundel Community College, Howard Community College, Invento, StartUpAfrica, Cogite, Education and Management Team of Georgia and two UD programs – the Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship and the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship -- worked to develop the Diamond Challenge.
To read about last year's success and the participants, visit Diamond Challenge 2014 on Storify.