CMR University to launch a Global Open Innovation Challenge – ‘CAUSE 2023’ for their Design Thinking Day!

Bengaluru: CMR University (CMRU), a leading university in Bengaluru with a vision ‘To nurture creative thinkers who will drive positive global change’ has announced the launch of a Global Open Innovation Challenge – CAUSE 2023 as a part of their flagship event ‘Design Thinking Day’ (DTD) to be held on Friday, 17 March 2023 at the Lakeside Campus, Bengaluru, India. This challenge will be hosted by the Department of Common Core Curriculum (DCCC) and is aimed to create an international platform to encourage students to come up with innovative solutions to real-world problems aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using the design thinking process. Through ‘Cause 2023’, CMR University invites students from across the globe to think about problems that they see locally in their communities and cities for which they could come up with sustainable solutions that have a global impact. The final date to register for ‘Cause 2023’ is Friday, 24 February 2023 (Click here to register).

The competition has two main categories for student participation: K-12 institutions and higher educational institutions. Any student from grades 5 to 12 and any student pursuing their undergraduate / postgraduate programme, from anywhere in the world can participate. This competition is however not open to working professionals. Students can participate in teams of minimum of 2 to a maximum of 6 members on the ‘Cause 2023’ website.

“Through CMR University’s Common Core Curriculum, we intend to prepare our students for a future they do not know, for jobs that do not exist today, and for all of life’s challenges. We firmly believe that the most important leadership competency required to thrive in the 21 century is problem-solving. We want our flagship annual event ‘Design Thinking Day’ to be an international platform for students to come together, collaborate, and create sustainable solutions to human-centric real-world problems that they deeply care about and celebrate the spirit of innovation.” said Dr. Tristha Ramamurthy, Provost of CMR University.

Students can register for the challenge before Friday, 24 February 2023. The final date for submitting their projects (Solution Pitch) is Tuesday, 28 February, 2023. Selected teams will get a chance to showcase their projects on the Design Thinking Day, where they will present and interact with the Jury. Winners from this round will further get an opportunity to pitch their idea to the Superstar Jury. The selected teams will then enter ‘Ground Zero’, which is the finale of the ‘Cause 2023’ Global Innovation Challenge. Winners will be awarded a cash prize from a prize pool of over INR. 1,00,000 / USD 1,500. The Jury will comprise global innovators, changemakers, experts, and venture funders, and industry leaders with whom the participants will have an opportunity to network with and get feedback from.