NEW CHALLENGE AT A GLANCE
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. The University has engaged more than 500 alumni, faculty, and administrators as judges and mentors for New Challenge. Winning teams receive mentorship, participate in skill-building workshops, and are eligible for up to $10,000 in seed funding from The New School. During this year of support, student teams develop tangible products, services, consultancies, cultural projects, `projects, game designs, and new technologies that address pressing social issues in communities around the world. This initial support enables New Challenge winners to leverage additional resources, connect with the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region, and develop partnerships with a range of collaborators, including individuals, organizations, and companies in New York City and throughout the world.
To date, more than 700 students have participated in 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 and learning disabilities, recycling, climate change, education (STEM, arts-based learning), food systems, civic tech, and more. They are working both in the United States and across the globe, including New York City, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, India, Liberia, Uganda, and Ethiopia.
