The Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship, housed at New Mexico State University, will host the prestigious Hult Prize for the first time Feb. 27.
Leveraged through the Mike Hunt Construction Sprints program, this year's competition will spotlight civil engineering students with groundbreaking ideas in construction technologies, addressing global challenges while fostering entrepreneurship and creating social impact in their field.
The Hult Prize is a renowned global competition that inspires young innovators to drive social change through entrepreneurship. Each year, the competition challenges university students worldwide to create innovative startups that address critical global issues aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Often referred to as the Nobel Prize for students, the Hult Prize provides participants with mentorship, funding, and the opportunity to compete for a $1 million seed investment to transform their ideas into reality. By focusing on impact-driven innovation, the Hult Prize cultivates the next generation of leaders committed to building a better world through the power of business.
The Mike Hunt Construction Sprints initiative is a cornerstone program of the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship, designed to accelerate business growth through innovative construction technologies. Named in honor of Mike Hunt, vice chairman of the board of directors for Hunt Companies, the program offers NMSU civil engineering students a robust platform to develop entrepreneurial skills and pioneer transformative ideas in the construction industry.
"We are committed to equipping our civil engineering students with the tools, funding and hands-on experiences they need to innovate and lead in the construction industry," said Carlos Murguia, director of the Hunt Center. "Through the Mike Hunt Construction Sprints, we're fostering entrepreneurial skills and empowering our students to tackle real-world challenges with cutting-edge solutions that drive meaningful change in their field."
The winning team will advance to the national Hult Prize event in Boston, with all travel, accommodation and participation expenses fully covered. They will compete against the top startups from universities across the U.S. for a chance to join the prestigious digital incubator program and qualify for the Hult Prize Global Accelerator at the historic Ashridge House near London.
At the accelerator, the six best teams from around the world will pitch their social ventures to a panel of distinguished judges, vying for the opportunity to be crowned the next winner of the U.S. $1 million Hult Prize.
"Providing civil engineering students with a robust platform to develop entrepreneurial skills and champion visionary solutions isn't just about bridging the gap between academia and industry—it's about empowering them to reimagine the future of construction," said Dana Catron, interim director and CEO of Arrowhead Center. "When students are given the right resources and guidance to pursue transformative ideas, they become catalysts for innovation that will shape the built environment for generations to come."
The application deadline is Feb. 15. Interested student teams may submit their applications at https://tinyurl.com/hultprizeNMSU.
Free tickets to attend the event are available at https://lu.ma/28n08r67.
For more information about the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship, contact Murguia at
The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-s-hunt-center-to-host-student-idea-competition-for-innovation-in-construction/s/b4df6cf0-7f51-4b9a-bcfa-aa0ac2748ad3
