Fostering a culture for STEM entrepreneurs
Fostering a culture for STEM entrepreneurs
BY ELLIE ASHFORD JUNE 1, 2018
The National Science Foundation’s Community College Innovation Challenge is a big deal for Red Rocks Community College (RRCC) in Colorado.
An RRCC team was the first place winner in 2015 — the first year of the challenge — placed in the top 10 in 2016, second in 2017 and has high hopes for the 2018 challenge.
The Innovation Challenge calls for teams of three to five students to use science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – and entrepreneurial thinking – to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems. The top 10 teams are invited to participate in a four-day Innovation Boot Camp, after which the winners are selected.
The American Association of Community Colleges is a co-sponsor of the competition. “The students competing in this challenge are leaders in innovation,” says AACC President Walter Bumphus. “Their use of STEM solutions to benefit society are not only highly significant but necessary in helping to secure a strong future.”
