CREDIT: HULT PRIZE ORGANIZATION
This year's Hult Prize theme is Redesigning Fashion. Finalists will travel to Paris, France where one team will be awarded $1 million to implement their idea.

Fanshawe College has joined Hult Prize Organization, a challenge for students to practice their entrepreneurial skills. The competition will see the winning team walking away with $1 million.

“Hult Prize Organization is a global organization which challenges college and university students to come up with a business idea on a given theme,” Divya Basera, Fanshawe’s campus director. “Every year they give a different theme which aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the students have to come up with a for-profit business idea and pitch it.”

This year’s theme is “Redesigning Fashion.” Fanshawe has three teams participating:


• Team L2L with Jules Derikozis, Thao Nguyen, Chloe G., Somkiat Saelek, Sacree Ngaba, and Khaalid Ennis

• Team Reborn with Antonio Hernandez, Chioma Asuzu, and Ochuko Ogunleye

• Team InnoBox with Camille Anibio, Andra Papelleras, and Ma. Zuza Plar

Teams are being assisted by professors Jennifer Wright (fashion design professor and researcher, Hult Prize project manager), Cassie Hopper (fashion design professor and researcher), and Wendy Sperry (professor, school of design).

The student volunteers, all from the public relations program, consist of Hemali Bhatt (events coordinator), Abhishek Tambadi (social media manager), Bitty Binu (content curator), and Basera.

“This year’s theme is Redesigning Fashion because fashion is one of the leading causes of environmental pollution. Because of fast fashion, the situation has become even worse,” Basera said.

Most of the students are part of the fashion design program, but not all of them. Some are also from the Lawrence Kinlin School of Business.

As of right now, all on-campus events have been completed. Students partook in accelerator workshops to enhance their entrepreneurial skills and did an on-campus pitch. Hult Prize has each team’s pitch and they are awaiting quarterfinal results. The judges will select 900 startups, who will then pitch in person at the Hult Prize Summits.

Then, the winning teams will move on to the semifinals, a global accelerator to fast-track their company development in Paris, France, and then to the global finals, also in France.

Fanshawe didn’t hear about this competition until January for the fashion theme, getting a late start. But, teams still pulled through.

“We want to give a shout out to the students who worked on such a short notice and still made it possible.”

Although this year’s Hult Prize is already underway, next year’s Hult Prize will begin with the new school year. The theme will be revealed and then students can start forming their ideas and teams.

More information can be found on oncampus.hultprize.org/fanshawe.