This year USD plans to compete for a one million dollar prize in the global Hult Prize competition. Roughly two million students participate in this annual contest, coined “the Nobel Prize for students,” every year. In 2020, USD became home to a winning team when the student organization Fomeno, dedicated to sustainable fashion, claimed the prize.
Competition for the annual Hult Prize is designed to motivate students to confront global issues. This school year’s prompt is to provide a solution to environmental damage caused by the fashion industry.
Any student regardless of major has the opportunity to participate in the competition, however, it is geared towards sustainability and business majors. The process to compete for the Hult Prize can begin after students register a three to four person team online. Registration ends on Feb. 8. The participating students will then be required to give a five minute presentation in February on the concept they have chosen to address the lack of sustainability in the fashion industry.
The students who win in February will be sent to the next level regional competition in Boston, Massachusetts, with hopes of seeing the global round in Paris, France.
USD junior sustainability and political science major and director for this year’s on campus Hult Prize competition, Caleb Swanson said, “Being a part of Hult Prize has been a great experience. I love the Hult Prize’s mission of advancing sustainable entrepreneurship. I think that the business community has an important role to play in combating the climate crisis and environmental degradation at large.”
More information on the parameters of the contest can be found at https://oncampus.hultprize.org/universityofsouthdakota.
