The Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC) is an innovation competition presented by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Understanding that the education of future scientists is an important part of scientific progress, the NSF has made it a point of emphasis to encourage the incorporation of research into the traditional teaching approach of community colleges.
Community colleges play a critical role in developing America’s technical workforce, especially those often underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and careers. This challenge helps students discover and demonstrate their ability to make a difference in the world through science.
About the Challenge
The Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS) program, an NSF program that looks for new ways to help the world deal with increasing resource demands, was the focus of the 2016 CCIC. Entrants submitted videos outlining their ideas.
Then 10 finalists were invited to attend a four-day innovation “boot camp” during which they got feedback on their presentations and insights from experts on topics including team-based design, communicating the value of innovation, and transitioning research to commercialization. A panel of judges then selected the winners.
Meet the 2016 CCIC Winners
The winner of the 2016 Community College Innovation Challenge is Forsyth Technical Community College! Normandale Community College and Virginia Western Community College tied for second place.
Check out these impressive projects:
Forsyth Technical Community College, North Carolina: Energy Efficient Nanotech Solar Greenhouse
The team proposed a way to modernize today’s greenhouses to fit individual customer needs by incorporating the use of renewable energy sources.
Normandale Community College, Minnesota: Wastewater Hydrokinetic Turbine
Engineering students proposed to implement hydrokinetic turbines in wastewater treatment plants to generate renewable energy.
Virginia Western Community College, Virginia: Efficient Mechanical Collection Method of Recovering Waste Apples
This group proposed a method for collecting apples that otherwise could not be sold to produce a biofuel, allowing more efficient use of U.S. orchards and new business opportunities for apple producers.
Congratulations to Some Amazing Innovators
At Skild, we’re proud that our innovation competition management platform makes it easier for these types of innovation competitions to take place and for creative students to get their ideas into the spotlight. Congratulations to this year’s winners.
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