Finalists in this national competition—hosted by the Weatherhead School of Management—will compete for monetary prizes and possible Goodyear internships and full-time employment; deadline to apply is Oct. 14
Graduate students from Case Western Reserve University—and from across the country—are invited to enter the fourth Goodyear Innovation Challenge, a business design and innovation competition.
Sponsored by the Akron-based tiremaker in collaboration with the Weatherhead School of Management, the competition at the university’s Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box] serves as a platform for students looking to showcase creative business ideas.
Judges will be looking for proposals that best address how to deliver future mobility solutions, meet customer expectations and contribute to Goodyear’s supply chain success.
The deadline to submit a proposal is Oct. 14. The top five teams will be invited to Cleveland to participate in a two-day design hackathon at the university Nov. 14 and 15. For more information, visit design.case.edu.
With proposal submissions now open, teams of four to five students are encouraged to build a business case in response to a specific design question: “How can Goodyear leverage such technologies to move forward with its supply chain and meet the demanding customer expectations in this environmentally conscious future mobility landscape?”
Teams will pitch their solutions to a panel of industry experts, including Goodyear representatives and Weatherhead School professors.
During the hackathon, the top five teams will work with students from other schools and Goodyear Innovation Lab associates for $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 cash prizes.
There will also be opportunities to explore internships and full-time positions at Goodyear.
“Digital transformation means ‘digital first’—firms must create value from their digital assets and mobilize physical assets when and where they add value,” said Youngjin Yoo, the Elizabeth M. and William C. Treuhaft Professorship in Entrepreneurship at the Weatherhead School and a consultant for the competition. “Such digital transformations not only save costs for companies, but also minimize wasted resources, energy consumption and keep overall value chains more sustainable.”
Current students over the age of 21 who are pursuing a master’s degree in any discipline in the United States are invited to apply. Multiple teams from the same university may participate. Undergraduates with significant experience in human-centered design, data science or graphic design will be considered.
“The Goodyear Innovation Challenge enables students from across the U.S. to experience Northeast Ohio’s growing innovation landscape,” said Erin Spring, director of new ventures at Goodyear. “We’ve seen some great talent over the past three years, and we’re excited to hear the ideas that students around the country will bring to the table this year.”
For more information, contact Daniel Robison at daniel.robison@case.edu.