The winner of our Dell Education Challenge is all about paying it forward, rather than just paying it back.
You see, Yale University student David Chi and his teammates wanted to create a holistic business that not only helped students, but also helped the community around them. Forward Tutoring was born, and we are thrilled to announce that the nonprofit will take home our $10,000 grand prize — as well as a network of support from other student entrepreneurs, Dell team members and resources from the Dell Social Innovation Challenge.
Forward Tutoring works like this: students in need of tutoring volunteer in their communities, earning credits for Forward Tutoring’s online platform. They receive free, one-on-one help from qualified student mentors, who in turn get scholarship and internship support from Forward Tutoring’s corporate and nonprofit partners. Those same partners often benefit from Forward Tutoring’s volunteers, and the system comes full circle. See for yourself:
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Forward Tutoring and three other finalists (Gyan Knowledge Lab, e-Education for GAZA, and Next Step Leaders) were selected from more than 400 project entries to attend Dell World this week, where they pitched their business ideas. Forward Tutoring will use the funds to support burgeoning university chapters working to bring accessible online tutoring to communities.
“Innovation in education is accelerating at a breathtaking speed — and we're so excited to be a part of the movement,” David said. “Forward Tutoring will use this incredible accomplishment to help us spread our mission of providing high-quality free tutoring to students, regardless of location or financial circumstances. We can't wait to help usher in an era of fundamental changes to education that don't stop at the classroom door.”
All projects in the Dell Education Challenge are automatically entered in the 2013 Dell Social Innovation Challenge, where projects will compete for more than $350,000 in cash awards and other prizes to bring their ideas to life. Entrants must post projects by Jan. 28, 2013 for consideration in the 2013 challenge.
We’d like to thank all the students who answered our call for innovative ideas to transform education both in and out of the classroom — including those who traveled halfway around the world to share their plans. We’d also like to thank our wonderful partners at the Dell Social Innovation Challenge, managed by The University of Texas at Austin LBJ School of Public Affairs. We can’t wait to see what the 2013 challenge season brings.
Join us at www.dellchallenge.org.