Dell Social Innovation ChallengeDell and The University of Texas at Austin’s RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service are working together for the sixth consecutive year to help fuel the spirit of the brightest young entrepreneurial minds, with the 2012 Dell Social Innovation Challenge.

The Dell Social Innovation Challenge (DSIC) is open to university students across the globe who have a passion to innovate and solve social or environmental issues. All the projects, at any stage in development, created by February 13, 2012 will be eligible for the Grand Prize. The participants involved in will compete to win more than $150,000 in cash prizes.

The DSIC is more than a competition, it’s a social network for social innovators. The global network of students, university partners, mentors, judges and business people are working together to provide that small actions can indeed change the world.

The Dell Social Innovation Challenge important stages for the Grand Prize Awards:

  • Students must enter ideas online by February 13, 2012. Projects will be accessible to the public online. Semifinalists will be announced at the end of March 2012.
  • Semifinalists will be invited to edit and develop their ideas into detailed venture plans and create video pitches. From these semifinalists, five finalist teams will be selected.
  • The five finalists will be announced on May 13, 2012, and invited to travel to Austin, Texas, for the Global Awards program and a finalist’s weekend full of networking and mentoring with social innovation leaders. They will pitch their ideas live in front of a panel of expert judges. The Global Awards event will be held on June 12, 2012, at The University of Texas at Austin.

Last year, nearly 1,500 teams from 85 countries (63% coming from outside of the US) presented ideas. The third prize winner of the 2011 Challenge was received by the team SIFE CBS from an Indian University, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies for their project Sanitations Solutions

Business leaders and entrepreneurs are encouraged to join the DSIC community and engage in multiple ways. You can help advance projects from India by providing community comments and voting for the People’s Choice awards. This year, in addition to the Grand Prize, 17 People's Choice Awards will also be given.

Indian students accounted for largest number of entries outside of the US in 2011. The third prize winner of the 2011 Challenge was received by the team SIFE CBS from an Indian University, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies for their project Sanitations Solutions. To learn more about the Dell Social Innovation Competition, visit www.dell.com/dellchallenge, become a Facebook fan or follow the competition on Twitter.