Entrepreneurship Education for Impact – the Social Storm SDGs Hackathon LIVE

While evidence shows that university students are ahead of teaching staff in wanting to see more of a focus on the issues addressed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in which integration with the curriculum remains patchy, co-curricular activities are having a real impact in enhancing the student experience. One of the best examples of these is Social Storm, now the longest-running international hackathon that brings international universities and their students together to collaborate and tackle the SDGs. It involves teams from at least two other locations, often in other countries, with each team tasked with finding a sustainable and commercially viable solution to a specific SDG. This year it is focusing on Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3) and Gender Equality (SDG 5).

In 2020 this unique experiential learning opportunity runs for 48 hours during Global Entrepreneurship Week from Friday 20 to Sunday 21 November on the CBWN Hub platform. With students from all backgrounds and disciplines, it is more diverse and inclusive than ever helped by working with key Commonwealth partners. With 60% of the Commonwealth’s 2.5 billion people under 30, a panel will discuss why university curricula focus on the SDGs remains weak and what can be done about it and discuss Social Storm’s approach, impact and potential. It will include a live link to students at the mid-point of the hackathon.

A way to find safe drinking water. A tool to identify and remove invasive species. Air quality monitors. Tools to detect lethal fake drugs. Apps to help lonely kids connect. This is Technovation, a global tech education nonprofit that empowers girls and families to become leaders, creators and problem-solvers. Technovation Girls equips young women (ages 10-18) to become tech entrepreneurs and leaders. With the support of volunteer mentors, girls work in teams to code mobile apps that address real-world problems. We will hear more about Technovation's approach and future plans.  

The Commonwealth Creativity and Innovation Challenge has been designed by CBWN, Flow In Action and GSMA  to engage young people across the Commonwealth in having innovative ideas about accessing education, as a response to the impact of COVID on school. That ongoing impact means that more than 1.5 billion children globally, continue to have their education and right to education disrupted. The partners want to amplify youth voices – age 8-16 years – and enable them to be heard across the Commonwealth. The partners are passionate about enabling a new generation of entrepreneurs to emerge, which starts with them having access to education, so are asking them to dream up ways that, offline and online, a mobile phone could enable, engage and empower them to access education. Accessing education now is vital to achieving UN SDG 4 – Quality Education and UN SDG 5 – Gender Equality.  The Challenge question asks them to, “Imagine this…a mobile phone is a school. How would you design it for yourself or someone your age?” 

• Finbarr Carter, Student Enterprise Officer, University of East Anglia, UK
• Arif Zaman, Bloomsbury Institute London
• Dr. Maisha Reza, Chair, Commonwealth Students' Association
• Rachel Ndungu, CEO, Biashara Africa, Kenya and Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network (CBWN)
• Rebecca Anderson, Senior Program Director, Technovation
• Hackathon team participants

Event convened by World Changers Foundation, University of East Anglia, UK, Bloomsbury Institute London, Commonwealth Students' Association and Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network (CBWN).