Schmidt Futures: The Reimagine Challenge 2020

The Reimagine Challenge 2020 by Schmidt Futures is calling for applications.

About the Competition

The Reimagine Challenge 2020 is seeking inventive and compelling ideas about changes that could create a better world from college and university students. Participants are invited to submit a written project proposal that addresses one of the two topics listed below.

Topic 1: Sparking a Global Movement

What is one concrete way that YOU could motivate 1,000,000 people to work in concert to make the world meaningfully better within 10 years?  What would you do, what would be the key steps to grow an effective massive action, and why would this have significant impact?  Why should we have confidence that you will succeed and how would we know that you had succeeded?

Topic 2: Community Impact from COVID

What is the most surprising or unusual insight you have had about your community in the wake of the pandemic?  Given this insight, what is the most important concrete action that YOU and a growing group of others could take to help your community or country better respond to changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic? How would you and we know you had succeeded?

The Challenge has two rounds of judging. Expert panels will assess the written proposal and select the shortlisted participants in round 1. Shortlisted participants are required to provide a more extensive proposal in round 2.

Up to 20 final entries will be selected as winners to be published in an online anthology and up to USD$1 million will be awarded in scholarships and prizes. Each winning author will receive up to USD$25,000 in scholarships, as well as garnering an additional USD$25,000 award to the university where the winner is currently enrolled. When public health permits, all winning authors will be invited to a celebration event hosted by Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google who co-founded Schmidt Futures, and his wife Wendy Schmidt.

How to join

• Submit an online form together with your proposal (no longer than 1,200 words in English) HERE by 11:59p.m. EST on September 25, 2020 (Sunday)

You may refer to the competition website HERE for more information about the competition.

Disclaimer:

1) Please note that student participants of this Competition will be responsible for their own safety while outside Hong Kong (provided that the students win the competition and to be invited to the celebration event hosted by Eric and Wendy Schmidt) and should arrange sufficient insurance coverage for the overseas trip. Students shall bear the consequences of their decisions for the overseas trip.

2) Students must pay all expenses related to the trip. Our School will not be responsible for any expenses incurred in this competition plus the overseas trip.

3) The data collected through the online application is solely administered by the organizer. The School shall not be held liable in the case that disputes, loss or any other situations arise.