The challenge was presented during the Global Innovation Tournament, which is organized by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program at Stanford University and sponsored by Intuit. Teams from around the world were asked to interpret the challenge any way they wanted and submit videos of their solution. The Rochester competition is an example of the tens of thousands of activities held around the world during Global Entrepreneur Week, November 16 – 22.

 

The local first-place winners at Rochester created a video describing Passthepig.org, an online network of people who talk about fun, innovative money-saving ideas, the university announced Friday. “Your idea is as valuable as the money you save by doing it,” the video says. The team is made up of Jennifer Burger, Justin Peczkowski, Elaina Stover, Eric Wisch, and Eva Xie. The runner-up team created a video, “Save the Money,” encouraging local investment in the community.

 

The University of Rochester Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) organized the local competition. Bob Tobin, associate director of the CFE, said in a statement, "We often talk to students about innovation and entrepreneurship, but the Global Innovation Tournament is a way to take charge of their creativity. This competition is a condensed, immersion experience. It's enormously empowering to realize you can create value from virtually nothing."

 

Global winners will be announced online on December 3.