NFTE & Microsoft Calls Young Innovators to Compete for Up to $10,000 in Cash and Prizes


As the school year gets underway, the global non-profit Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) kicks off its annual World Series of Innovation, presented by Microsoft, and invites teams of young people around the world to think creatively and invent new products or services that address every-day opportunities.

Student teams are encouraged to submit, in English, their unique idea and 60-second commercial, in one of the ten challenges set forth by sponsoring companies, for a chance at winning up to $10,000 in cash and prizes.

As a featured event of Global Entrepreneurship Week (Nov. 18-24) the World Series of Innovation extends NFTE’s message of the power of entrepreneurship by challenging teams of young innovators to devise groundbreaking products and services targeted at specific market opportunities.

Participants will be supplied with a World Series of Innovation toolkit based on NFTE’s award-winning entrepreneurship curriculum to assist in the completion of their submissions.

“NFTE has been paving the way in experiential education, in and out of the classrooms, by sparking innovation and entrepreneurship for over 25 years and the World Series of Innovation is a key platform that amplifies our reach to even more young people around the globe,” said Amy Rosen, President and CEO of NFTE. “We are especially proud to have Microsoft as our presenting sponsor and to be working with an incredible list of challenge sponsors this year.”

As the presenting sponsor of the World Series of Innovation, Microsoft is issuing challenges for students to create tablet/smartphone apps and games that raise awareness and provide solutions for common student and school issues.

“Microsoft shares in NFTE’s commitment to empower our youth to dream big and realize their full potential and it is through this program we see students thinking about how they can contribute to making their communities stronger,” said Anthony Salcito, Vice President, Worldwide Education, Microsoft Corp.

“We are eager to see the tablet/smartphone app and game design ideas students will come up with to help advance education. The World Series of Innovation is more than a competition but a real life experience that these students can leverage to kick start a career and transform their ideas into reality.”

Challenge Categories include:

Howard G. Buffett Foundation’s 40 Chances Initiative: 4 Challenges around Food & Nutrition Solutions

Coca-Cola/ VEB (venturing & emerging brands): Sparkling Beverage Marketing Plan

Pitney Bowes Foundation: Literacy Game or App

SAP: Technology Sports Challenge

NFTE in support of the Global Agenda Council on Youth Unemployment of the World Economic Forum: Replicable Business Design

WSI submissions are due on October 18th, after which the sponsors will select the top 3 ideas in each challenge category. From November 11-24th, the general public will be asked to vote online for their favorite finalists in each category to determine the winning entries. Winners will be announced immediately following Global Entrepreneurship Week on Nov. 25th. The winning students and their sponsoring classrooms, schools or youth groups will receive cash and prize packages of up to$10,000 from the sponsors and NFTE.


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