New Challenge

New Challenge expands opportunities for students to realize their ideas and to take them to the next level of implementation.  Building on The New School’s commitment to learning through action, New Challenge helps students develop as changemakers and lead real change in the world.

New Challenge

Sweet Generation is a storefront bakery near St. Mark’s Place that simultaneously provides at-risk young people with job training and donates a percentage of its proceeds to support arts education for youth. After having completed a highly successful Indiegogo campaign...

New Challenge Winner: Sweet Generation (2013)

Project Fogg is a post-disaster visualization and communication kit intended to help communities respond quickly and effectively in the hours immediately following a disaster by allowing those on the ground to capture and access real time footage. Comprised of a large tethered...

New Challenge Winner: Project Fogg

Disability and Beauty seeks to implement a more inclusive approach to fashion by challenging the notion that design for those with disabilities must constitute a separate market. The idea for this project was inspired by Jake, the 14-year-old cousin of Lucy Jones...

A Closer Look: Transforming the Fashion Industry Through Inclusive Design

BeyondABC is a mobile game that teaches at-risk youth in rural India safety lessons, so they know their rights and can protect themselves from exploitative situations, such as human trafficking. By focusing on prevention and education, this technology platform equips...

New Challenge Winner: Beyond ABC

STEAM Punks was created in response to the personal experience of Mehdi Salehi, a political refugee from Afghanistan, along with the realization that there is currently little opportunity for children in Afghanistan to receive an education beyond basic reading, writing, and...

New Challenge Winner: Steam Punks

Drive Change is using the food truck industry to broaden access to opportunity, reduce recidivism, and increase job readiness for young adults coming out of adult jail in New York City. The initial model of this social venture involved building and operating a state-of-the-art...

A Closer Look: Creating a Pathway To Employment for Formerly Incarcerated Youth

A year-round learning experience open to both undergraduate and graduate students across the University, New Challenge has created a robust application process in which the entire New School community identifies teams with a high potential for significant social impact...

Impact: New Challenge

New Challenge was built from the ground up by a group of students and faculty from design, management, performing arts, and social science. This initial team of students began their collaboration by developing a creative project that engaged the university community...

New Challenge: Change Making is a Creative Pursuit

To date, more than 800 students have applied to New Challenge and more than 70 students have received funding. Teams are tackling a range of issues, including transitional employment for the formerly incarcerated, sustainable transportation, housing justice, physical...

Student Perspectives on New Challenge

New Challenge is a response to a changing world. The future of work, enterprise, and careers is being transformed by technology, globalization, and other factors. Young people are increasingly seeking to build careers with purpose and to make a positive social impact through their work...

New Challenge: Supporting Social Impact Entrepreneurs