Dyson Map the Challenge Case Competition 2020

Dyson Leadership Development

2020 MAP THE CHALLENGE

What is Map the Challenge?

Dyson’s Map the Challenge is a campus-wide competition that asks students and all Cornell University members to think differently about social and environmental change.

Map the Challenge is patterned after Map the System, a global competition established by The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Oxford, UK. Designed in parallel with Dyson’s Grand Challenges initiative, the program underscores Dyson’s mission, “Our Business is a Better World” by highlighting UN PRIME sustainable goals and is one of the school’s most prestigious and comprehensive case events.

The judges for this year’s competition include Dyson’s Leader in Residence Reggie Fils-Aimé ’83, former President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America, as well as alumni, and faculty. The competition is hosted annually by Dyson’s Leadership Development Program.

Teams will select one of these four UN PRME sustainable goals: No Poverty; Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; Renewable Energy; or Clean Water and Sanitation to explore, probe and research the connecting elements and factors around it from a systems perspective. Ultimately, teams present selected topic to judges in a way that informs such that people can understand, share, and learn.

Why use a mapping approach to solving problems?

Social change is complicated. Mapping is a way of understanding its complexities. It allows us to think about context and the many interacting factors that contribute to the development of economic forces, political movements or global trends. It provides methods and tools to understand the whole picture by removing silos and applying a systems approach.

Team Requirements:

• Teams are required to have 4 students each.
• Teams MUST have at least 1 Dyson student, but no more than 1 MS, MPS, or Ph.D. student each.
• Only ten teams will be accepted to compete. Registration is on a first-come, first-served “time-stamped” basis.
• Team Registration begins at 8:00am on Monday, December 9, 2019! The team’s designated captain will complete an online registration form and submit their team’s name, along with each member’s full name, NetIDs, college/school name, and academic term: https://cornell.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8o9D7xXWVUdRmp7

Case Preparation

• Teams are to attend a MANDATORY Workshop on, Friday, February 7, 2020 in B75 Warren Hall from 12:00 – 2:00pm with Denise Ramzy to learn about Systems Thinking.
• Teams can begin working on their project immediately after the Friday, February 7th Workshop at 2:00pm.
• Teams are not permitted to discuss the competition with anyone other than their teammates or consult with a prior participant(s). Doing so will be considered a violation of the Cornell University’s Code of Academic Integrity.
• DEADLINE for submitted materials are to be sent to amber.richter@cornell.edu NO LATER THAN Wednesday, February, 12, 2020 at 10:00pm.
• Please note that you and your team must not change or edit your slides in any way between the Wednesday, February 12^th 10:00pm submission time and your presentation slot on Friday, February 14^th.

The Finals

• Team presentations will be held Friday, February 14^th from 2:30pm – 5:00pm in B75 Warren Hall.
• Every team member must attend their assigned presentation time slot on Friday, February 14. Your team’s presentation time is attached to this email.
• Dress Code: Business
• What to bring: Six (6) copies of your presentation slides, as well as a backup of your deck on a USB flash drive.
• What to know:
  • Teams are expected to take a systems thinking approach to their research analysis and present their findings in three ways: 1. Visual Systems Map, 2. Written Summary of your research, and 3. Bibliography pertaining to ONE of 4 sustainable goals from Grand Challenges that the Map the Challenge (MTC) Committee pre-selects
  • Teams should prepare for a 5-minute presentation followed with 5-minutes of Q&A
• Judging will be based on the following criteria:
  • The content of your analysis and your ability to answer questions related to the project.
  • How well you were able to integrate what you have learned into your analysis.
• Cash Prizes:
  • 1^st Place Team: $2,000
  • 2^nd Place Team: $1,000
  • 3^rd Place Team: $500

1^st place winning team will accompany the judges, staff, and the Leadership Minors to Banfi’s at the Statler Hotel for dinner at 5:30pm!

Questions? Contact Amber Richter 254-8259, amber.richter@cornell.edu

Best of luck to all teams!