MALCOLM RADKE
News Writer

The W. Brett Wilson Centre for Entrepreneurial Excellence launched their third annual i3 Idea Challenge Nov. 16. The third time appears to be the charm.

The centre’s annual Pitch Party, a networking event expected to draw over 1,000 students and members of the business community, officially kicked off this year’s i3 Idea Challenge the evening of Nov. 17.

This year’s challenge will feature a new branch of competition, known as Simple Ideas for a Better Place. The goal of the competition is to promote ideas that address social issues and make the world a better place, rather than make money.

Corporate philanthropist Brett Wilson was visiting Haïti to see the devastation first-hand and noticed the growing amount of plastic pollution resulting from the country’s clean water issues. Like any true entrepreneur, Brett saw the situation as an opportunity for improvement and got in touch with Sanj Singh, the director of the Wilson Centre for Entrepreneurial Excellence at the U of S.

After a brief brainstorming session, the decision was made: give university students across campus the ability to put their skills and education to use by addressing a social issue from an entrepreneurial perspective.

The immediate goal of the competition is to empower the people of Haïti to make improvements in their everyday lives through sustainable entrepreneurial initiatives, rather than financial aid. The Simple Ideas branch of competition will run alongside the i3 Idea Challenge over a nine-month time period.

U of S participants will be given opportunities to network and collaborate with each other, as well as local community figures. Once the judges have selected the winning ideas and prize money has been awarded, teams will be given aid in the implementation of their idea in Haiti.

The competition has strong potential and is already generating interest from universities around the world. Should the project prove to be a success, other initiatives and competitions addressing social issues could be in the Wilson Centre’s future plans.

For more information, contact Jessica Richard, Marketing Coordinator for the Wilson Centre at Richard@edwards.usask.ca