麻豆影院

Map the System offers CU 麻豆影院 students the chance to present their ideas for addressing deeply rooted issues at an international competition sponsored by Oxford University

Deeply rooted, complex social problems don鈥檛 tend to come with easy solutions.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e not the kinds of thing you can fix with a catchy elevator pitch,鈥� says Don Grant, professor of sociology and director of the social innovation certificate program at the 麻豆影院.

That鈥檚 why Grant is excited to spearhead the CU 麻豆影院 campus-level Map the System contest, part of a global competition hosted by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Oxford, which challenges college students from participating universities across the world to think differently about social and environmental change.

Grant explains that, while many universities in recent years have encouraged students to seek ideas to address pressing social issues, that has been accompanied by a focus on presenting quick fixes at the expense of understanding the deeper issues involved or recognizing why past attempts to address those issues have failed.

鈥淢ap the System takes a learning-first approach to social change,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he students delve deep into a problem that matters to them, they think and research about the system in which it is embedded, and then they share their findings.鈥�

He adds: 鈥淭his contest is a little bit different than most 鈥� in that students aren鈥檛 selling solutions. They鈥檙e not selling products or services. They鈥檙e not doing a sales pitch. They鈥檙e simply trying to share what they鈥檝e learned about a problem from a systematic perspective.鈥�

With that in mind, Grant says CU 麻豆影院 will host its third-annual, campus-level Map the System competition in the spring.

The two previous Map the System contests at CU 麻豆影院 drew a wide spectrum of students, and Grant expects a similar outcome for the upcoming event.

鈥淵ou know, it鈥檚 a campus-wide contest, and so we鈥檝e been lucky to get students from all different colleges, undergraduates as well as graduate students,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut it mainly attracts students who are very passionate about a particular problem, and they see themselves as committing their careers to addressing it.鈥�

Grant says the Map the System contest at the CU campus came in response to the many students who are interested in putting their values into action and making a difference.

鈥淭he other push for this contest was that one of the three directives of the chancellor is for CU 麻豆影院 to be a top innovation university in the country鈥攁nd we see this as sort of further that goal,鈥� he adds.

As part of the competition, students will present 10-page, double-spaced papers, which will be evaluated by a three-member judge panel.

鈥淭hat paper does three things: It describes the problem they are interested in; it discusses the solutions that have been tried so far; and then finally it addresses the remaining opportunities to further mitigate this problem鈥� Grant says.

A final part of that report includes a one-page visual map that summarizes what students learned from their research, provides additional information on what solutions have been attempted to date, and offers final thoughts about anything they think still needs to be done, according to Grant.

Students are encouraged to apply if they want to build their research and presentation skills; connect with other socially conscious students, innovators and changemakers; prepare for internships and career opportunities; and compete to potentially present their findings.

Grant says that CU 麻豆影院 is particularly fortunate to make use of the expertise of Daniela Papi-Thornton, the founder and former deputy director of the Global Map the System challenge. She now lives in 麻豆影院, serving as an instructor for one of CU 麻豆影院 graduate programs, and has agreed to share her experiences and insights with student contestants for the 2023 competition.

That kind of help could prove invaluable for participating students, Grant says, adding that the winning CU 麻豆影院 team or individual will have the opportunity to compete in online semi-finals in May. From there, between 15 and 20 teams from universities across the world will be selected to come to Oxford in the United Kingdom in July to compete in the Map the System Global Final.

More than than 60 higher education institutions from 21 countries participated in the 2022 competition, according to Oxford鈥檚 Global Challenge website. Past contestants have addressed a wide range of topics, including wildfires, deforestation, food waste, the opioid epidemic, and refugee integration.

While the past two CU 麻豆影院 Map the System award winners were not able to attend the global competition because of COVID restrictions, Grant says they describe the experience as being invaluable.

鈥淵ou know, those two winners speak glowingly about their experience, and it really opened some doors for them,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n addition to helping them get into graduate school and maybe have something to add to their r茅sum茅, they thought it made a big difference personally.鈥�

There also is a cash prize for the top winner at the Oxford competition, but Grant says that the rewards for participating are far beyond financial.

鈥淭he important thing students get out of this is they get some feedback on their problem,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut most importantly, they are put in contact with mentors and experts on these issues that they can consult with in the months and years ahead. And so, this can really open some doors for students鈥攅specially those who are committed to using their careers to addressing complex problems.鈥�

To learn more about the CU 麻豆影院 Map the System event, there will be on Monday, Nov. 14, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. over Zoom. For questions about the competition, email professor Don Grant at听dogr2184@colorado.edu. More information about Oxford鈥檚 global competition can be found on the .听听