RCE Grand Rapids-2015

rce_proj_title_2013
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1. Project Title: 
Wicked Problems of Sustainability - Update
2. Thematic area/s addressed by the project
Select your options: 
3. Project partner contact information : 
Organization: 
The Wege Foundation www.wegefoundation.com
Role: 
Funder
Main Contact: 
Ellen Satterlee
4. Project type
Select the relevant type for your project: 
Other (please clarify) : 
Problem Solving Design Thinking Wicked Problems
5. Project description
Provide a short description of the project including strategies, regional challenges, aims and specific project activities.: 

Every day, people from all over the world scour their respective fields for definitive solutions to the world’s wicked problems. But what if we stopped searching for solutions alone, and began designing them together?


What would happen if we challenged undergraduate students from around the country to work together, collaborating across institutional and disciplinary boundaries to engage in a revolutionary new kind of problem solving?


Wege Prize is a trans-disciplinary collaborative design competition that asks teams of five (representing at least two different educational institutions and at least two different fields of study) to develop a cogent solution to the following wicked problem: How can we create a circular economy?


The second year of the competition engaged 16 teams, 80 participants from 7 states representing 16 Colleges and Universities and 56 unique majors.


The 2015 competition invited all United States students to participate. Finalist teams presented and defended their work to 5 internationally known judges and a live audience. Visit the website to learn about the winners. http://www.wegeprize.org/previous-winners


6. Project status
On Going
Description: 
Now in its third year, the 2016 competition is international. Competing this year for prizes totaling $30,000 are 15 teams, 75 participants, 19 colleges and universities 52 unique majors, and 4 countries.
8. Tagging
Region: 
Americas
Tags (choose up to 5):