TIAS | Hult Prize 2020

This year, not one but three TIAS Full-time MBA teams have been selected by HULT for the ‘HULT Prize 2020’!  In three teams, the eleven of us will pitch three different social entrepreneurial ideas in different regions in the world; Ho-Chi-Minh (Vietnam), Monterrey (Mexico), and Tunis (Tunisia).

We’re fundraising to entirely focus on the HULT project and to cultivate an entrepreneurship mindset for future alumni. All donations will be used only for travel expenses and the surplus will be saved for next year’s HULT prize finalists.

Below we explain more about the HULT Prize, introduce ourselves and our crowdfunding project to you:

What is HULT Prize?

Today, the HULT Prize is one of the world’s most acclaimed entrepreneurship programs operating on more than 1500 university campuses in 121 countries and has become a benchmark startup challenge for social entrepreneurship.

With a US$1,000,000 global startup prize as its anchor activity, the HULT Prize has brought impact-focused programs and events to over a million students globally, creating a pathway for youth everywhere to take action to build a better world.


This year’s HULT Prize 2020’s Challenge

“Building a Start-Up that has a positive impact on Our Planet with every dollar earned”


Who are the Finalists?

This year, more than 300,000 students signed up for the opportunity to develop a world-changing idea and only 5,000 of them are selected for the next stage. 3 teams from TIAS Full-time MBA have been selected to the Regional Finals and are ready to change the world around us!

About the TIAS Teams
The teams will compete simultaneously in three regions:

Team BENTO - Monterrey, Mexico
We decided to join our talents and skills as we believe we are a perfectly diverse combination of cultures and backgrounds; from hospitality, financial assurance, textile, and systems integration. With insights from public sector projects, business, electronics, chemical sciences, health care management, information technologies, and education. 

Our idea stemmed from the staggering statistics on child obesity in Mexico, and grew into a project that will optimistically tackle 11 SDGs; aiding the fight against approximately 12 million cases of child obesity, food waste stream, supporting low-income families by creating jobs, amongst other issues.

In addition, we believe through innovation in nutrition quality and collaboration with the right stakeholders such as local government, schools and, families. In doing so, this project will bring improved nutrition to the children, the future of the nation.


Team TAO - Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
In a world defined by change, success comes from everyone leading. We live in a rapidly transforming, increasingly interconnected world. The size and complexity of global challenges need change-makers of every shape and size. We want to define a new roadmap that allows people to thrive in this new environment and provide solutions that benefit and improve the lives of millions of people. We want to use our deep-rooted sense of empathy for others, identify a specific problem or opportunity to tackle and do something about it.

We are from different backgrounds, blending strong knowledge in engineering, biomedicine, energy, marketing, and administration. Jan Pieter van Tilburg is an entrepreneur with a strong engineering background in energy and construction and thrives for this opportunity to follow his belief for a better world. Hee Yeon Shim is a digital marketer and an explorer who believes in data and innovation. As a global citizen and also as a digital-savvy millennial, she has a great passion for creating a sustainable business for society. Nithin Antony is an entrepreneur with a background in healthcare and an inherent mindset to find creative and simple solutions.

As Engineers Without Borders founder, George Roter says, "Everyone has change-making in their DNA; it’s just a matter of unlocking it”. We believe that the HULT Prize can unlock the change-maker from within our DNA and change the world, through a business that has a positive impact on our planet with every dollar earned. We want to be a change-maker.


Team INTI - Tunis, Tunisia
Our team consists of four visionaries from emerging economies, where health and well-being issues tend to be undervalued. In 2018, an estimated 2.8 million deaths worldwide were attributed to inadequate consumption of nutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables. These deaths were recorded primarily in South Asia, East Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa – also the regions where we came from. Reduced consumption of these two nutrient-rich foods is linked to poor health and increased risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Growing fruits and vegetable consumption is a crucial component of a shift towards healthier and more sustainable diets.

We aspire to innovate a product that increases the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by deploying innovative cold chain and renewable technology. We believe that our diverse cultural backgrounds and economic realities, coupled with our shared goal of providing a solution that tackles malnutrition and poor health, are our strengths. This shall reinforce our vision to design a solution that is focused, relevant, and ultimately, scalable.


HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE JOURNEY
This year, for the first time, Hult Prize will bring TIAS a triple worldwide exposure, by our three teams. We are competing to win, and to carry TIAS name to the Finals!

Our target is 7,000 euros, which will be used only for travel expenses including Airplane tickets (round-trip), accommodations, visa fares, and internal transportation for 4 days and 3 nights. Any surplus will be donated to cover next year’s team travel costs. We believe this will cultivate the entrepreneurship environment within TIAS. 

With your support, our passion and social entrepreneurial ideas will be communicated around the globe and may contribute to a better world! Let's make it happen together