MIT IDEAS Global Challenge

MIT IDEAS Global Challenge, a program of the Public Service Center, is an annual invention and entrepreneurship competition that awards up to $10,000 per team for innovative service projects that positively impact underserved communities. Through IDEAS - which stands for Innovation, Development, Enterprise, Action, and Service - teams of MIT students and their collaborators work with a community partner to design and implement innovative projects that improve the quality of life in communities around the world. Since its founding in 2001, IDEAS has awarded nearly $500,000 to more than 90 teams to make their ideas a reality.

At the heart of the MIT mission statement is a call to serve the nation and the world -- and this charge is embodied by the MIT Public Service Center. Every year, we send thousands of students into communities locally, across the nation, and around the globe to apply their skills and knowledge for the betterment of humankind. In the Institute's best traditions of hands-on experience, entrepreneurial spirit, and creative problem solving, these students donate their time, create new technologies, form communities and companies -- and ultimately change lives everywhere they go.

As part of MIT's Division of Student Life, we provide a central point of communication and support for the outreach and humanitarian efforts of the MIT community. We engage students, alumni, staff, faculty, and others in life-changing initiatives and social entrepreneurship ventures that provide needed resources to individuals and communities.