Blog
Aug 29

Conrad Challenge combines STEM and entrepreneurism, open for teams

Click here to download a copy of the 2019-2020 Conrad Challenge poster

How did the Challenge begin? 

The Challenge is named for my late husband, Pete, an Apollo astronaut and Moon walker. Pete had a passion for entrepreneurism that aligned with my passion for education transformation. He was creative and bold. We both understood the need to combine STEM education with the spirit of entrepreneurship. That combination empowers students to unleash their creativity in a collaborative framework.

What are your goals for the Challenge? 

I don’t want the future to just happen. The future needs to be created by us. That’s what we do with the Conrad Challenge. We prepare students to create that future, for themselves, their communities and the larger global community.

They learn to think differently – not thinking in a box or outside a box – but to recognize there is no box to limit their creativity and potential. Students are empowered to solve the issues that are important to them and their communities.

How do students and teachers get involved? 

The 2019-2020 Conrad Challenge registration opened Aug. 23.  Teams can register at  conradchallenge.org  and find all the information they need to join this year’s competition.

Registration is open until Nov. 1 at which time teams must have identified the issue they want to address and submitted an “investor’s pitch” outlining the challenge and solution. I encourage teams to register as early as possible, so they have the most time to work on their project.

Teams consist of 2-5 students ages 13-18 with a coach, over the age of 18 to help guide them through the process.

Teams will have access to judges and subject matter experts who will provide feedback throughout the process.  Teams selected to move on to Phase 2 of the competition in November. The top five finalists in each of our four categories will be announced in February 2020 and invited to participate in the Innovation Summit in Florida in April.