How would you leverage exponential technologies to address Australia’s grand challenges in energy, environment, food, shelter, space, water, disaster resilience, governance, health, learning, prosperity and security?
How would this improve the lives of millions of people in Australia and around the globe in 5 – 10 years?
Overview
The purpose of the SingularityU Australia Global Impact Challenge is to foster entrepreneurs, startups and anyone with moonshot ideas to have positive impact. We intend to improve the lives of Australians and scale the moonshot to impact a billion people worldwide in 10 years.
What moonshot can you imagine that would solve a global grand challenge using exponential technology?
Why host a Global Impact Challenge in Australia?
Australia is the only continent country on this planet. Covering an immense area of the globe, naturally, the people of Australia are diverse and all-encompassing. With that comes a vast array of innovation, continuously proving to strive and thrive through adversity and necessity. Let’s rise to the occasion and showcase the innovative and creative ideas from Australia that have the potential to positively impact the world.
This is the second SingularityU Australia Global Impact Challenge this year, and we are excited to once again showcase just how amazing our community is on the global stage.
Selected applicants will be invited to pitch at a series of Impact 1B Events to be held in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Additionally, a virtual event will be held. All Impact IB Events will take place throughout September 2019.
Impact 1B finalists are offered the opportunity to attend a GIC Bootcamp in Sydney on October 12 and 13, 2019, which will prepare each finalist for the Grand Finale.
The Impact 1B Grand Finale will be hosted on October 22 at the International Convention Centre as part of the at the SingularityU Australia Summit. The winner will be selected by a diverse panel of judges consisting of representatives from communities across Australia, senior business leaders, and global entrepreneurs, and the winner will be announced on the day.
For more on the first SingularityU Australia Global Impact Challenge experience, listen to our Inspire For 5 Podacsts and hear from our past finalists and winner here:
- Sahil Harriram from Elite Robotics
- Mladen Jovanovic from BindiMaps
- Declan Edwards from BU Coaching
- Dr. James Hehre from Marine Futures
The prize
The winner of this challenge will secure a full scholarship to attend a transformational program at Singularity University.
Dates and timeline
Applications open: August 13, 2019
Applications close: September 30, 2019
Impact 1B Grand Finale & Winner Announced: October 22, 2019
Impact 1B Important Dates:
Perth Impact 1B: August 30, 2019
Brisbane Impact 1B: September 2, 2019
Adelaide Impact 1B: September 10, 2019
Canberra Impact 1B: September 12, 2019
Melbourne Impact 1B: September 24, 2019
Sydney Impact 1B: September 25, 2019
Auckland Impact 1B: October 2, 2019
Successful Virtual Applicants Announced: October 10, 2019
Bootcamp: October 12, 2019
Bootcamp: October 13, 2019
Grand Finale – Summit: October 22, 2019
SingularityU Australia GIC
March 2019 Winners
Jessica Meeuwig
Dr. James Hehre
Project: Marine Futures Lab (MFL)
Marine Futures Lab is working globally to document the status of over-fished open-ocean wildlife, pioneering video-based field methods, and developing open-source automated software for video processing. Cost-effective equipment and open-source processing mean scientists and managers around the world, including developing countries where financial resources are most limited and overfishing is greatest, can generate the knowledge needed to halt and reverse ocean wildlife declines.
Sponsored & Hosted by:
Rules & Criteria
Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- The challenge is open to residents and citizens of Australia
- You must be age 21 or older
- You must be fluent in written and spoken English
- You must be able to participate in the entire transformational Singularity University program
We will be really thrilled to find:
- SU mission alignment: You have a startup in one of the global grand challenge (GGC) spaces.
- Team: Your startup has at least two full-time co-founders.
- Experience: You have expertise in an exponential technology and/or a key GGC space.
- Time: Your venture is a fully formed entity, and is in the seed-stage or idea-stage.
- Traction: You have demonstrated market traction (LOIs, purchase orders, validated trials, sales, etc.).
- Eagerness to learn: You’re looking for a substantial shift in mindset and skill set, and are eager to globalize your startup and 10x your impact.
- Availability: You’re available to travel to attend the transformational Singularity University program.
We will evaluate submissions using the following criteria:
- Degree of the solution’s relevance to the theme of the challenge
- The regional relevance in solving the challenge in Australia
- Project or Idea leverages exponential technology to solve the problem
- Feasibility, Viability, and Coherence of implementing the idea
- Impact & compelling need and potential to scale globally
- Committed existing team
- CV or resume
- Summary of accomplishments
- An abstract of the project idea
- Video (provide url) of the project idea
Applications open: August 13, 2019
Applications close: September 30, 2019
Impact 1B Grand Finale & Winner Announced: October 22, 2019
Impact 1B Important Dates:
Perth Impact 1B: August 30, 2019
Brisbane Impact 1B: September 2, 2019
Adelaide Impact 1B: September 10, 2019
Canberra Impact 1B: September 12, 2019
Canberra Impact 1B: September 13, 2019
Melbourne Impact 1B: September 17, 2019
Sydney Impact 1B: September 24, 2019
Sydney Impact 1B: September 25, 2019
Successful Virtual Applicants Announced: October 10, 2019
Bootcamp: October 12, 2019
Bootcamp: October 13, 2019
Grand Finale – Summit: October 22, 2019
GIC Organizing Team
Lisa Andrews
Founder and CEO, Ignite Alliance
SingularityU Newcastle Chapter Ambassador
SingularityU GIC Organizer
Christina Gerakiteys
Founder, UtopiaX
SingularityU Newcastle Chapter Ambassador
SingularityU GIC Organizer
Jamie Sy
Impact & Purpose Driver, Ignite Alliance
SingularityU Newcastle Chapter Leader
SingularityU GIC Leadership Team
Samantha Lopez
COO, Ignite Alliance
SingularityU Newcastle Chapter Leader
SingularityU GIC Leadership Team
Frequently Asked Questions
Global Impact Challenges (GICs) are incentive competitions organized by partners in countries around the world to identify innovative startups & solutions using exponential technology to solve the world’s pressing challenges. The winner of this challenge receives a full sponsorship to attend a transformational Singularity University program.
Ideal candidates full-time founders with a fully formed entity in the early-stage or seed-stage.
Intellectual property resulting from a GIC belongs to the applicant(s).
The selection process has 2-3 phases, depending on the GIC. The first phase involves a review of all applications to determine 5-10 finalists, and the second phase involves final judging to select the winner at a pitch event.
GIC winners are responsible for their own travel expenses to/from SU.
In all cases where a GIC winner cannot attend the Singularity University program, the winner forfeits his or her seat to the first runner-up and would then need to reapply for admission in a future year.
Still have questions?
Contact the SingularityU Australia Global Impact Challenge team at australia@gic.su.org, or contact the Global Impact Challenge team at SU at gic@su.org.